Runner
by plainjane913
Summary: 16 year-old Marie Dwyer is physically and emotionally abused by her parents. She finally gets the nerve to runaway, and under the alias Bella Swan she meets many new people including a certain Edward Cullen. But can the horrors of her past destroy her present and future?
1. Prologue

My breaths grew ragged as I put more miles between me and my enemy.

_How did they find me? This is not good. Not good! I need to get away, far away…_

The cold winter wind gushed around my face, wearing down my skin until it was shiny and pink. My vision blurred as my eyes started watering. My feet felt like cinder blocks, and I could no longer feel my toes. But still I ran. I knew this would happen if I let myself have a life, be more than just another faceless scum on the street, but I had. Now I could just hope that I was the only one paying the price for my mistake. Adrenaline pumped through me and kept me running from my dark past into the mysterious future.


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**New Beginnings **

"Marie, get the hell over here and take my plate, I'm finished. Make sure grab a beer for me on the way back, and make it snappy."

"Yes, sir." I mumbled quietly as I jumped up from my chair in the kitchen where I had just sat down to eat, and ran to my father to grab his plate, carefully balancing the bowl, silverware and napkin on it, knowing what would happen if I dropped it again. Making sure to not block his view of the T.V., I made my way across the living room and to the kitchen. I set the dirty dishes on the counter and hurried over to the fridge, grabbing my father's favorite kind of beer. I popped the lid and brought it back to him as fast as I could. After he gave his dismissing nod I went back to the sink, emptying and washing his dishes. Sighing, I went back to my crude, wooden chair at the kitchen table where my turkey sandwich was waiting. I always had to make dinner for my parents before I could eat, and there was rarely ever anything left for me, so I pretty much survived on sandwiches. I was just going in for my first bite when my mother walked in the front door.

"MARIE! TAKE MY COAT AND GIVE ME MY DINNER _NOW_!" She screeched.

"Yes ma'am." I muttered as I ran over to her and took her coat, hanging it on the coat hanger next to the door. Then I ran over to reheat the lasagna I had made her earlier.

"Rough day?" I heard my father inquire as I pushed the 'start' button on the microwave.

"Ugh, you wouldn't believe it. I had to spend the whole day with those bitches Tanya and Irina _shopping. _I had to sit there as they picked out clothes for their new _babies. _And one of Tanya's little brats came with us! Children are revolting." She answered. Tanya and Irina were my mother's "best friends". She basically pretended to like them because Irina was arguably richer than the queen of England, and Tanya's husband was on the police force, and he had helped his wife's friend out with more than a few accounts of drunk driving and stealing over the years, convinced that no friend of Tanya's could be guilty.

_Beep. Beep. Beep… _I opened up the microwave and took out the steaming plate. I grabbed a fork and another beer and headed out to the living room.

Then the worst happened.

Just as I was about to give the dinner to my mother I tripped over the lip in the rug. It was like it was happening in slow motion. Despite my attempts to right myself, the lasagna went flying and landed with a _splat _all over my mother's chest. Luckily I was able to keep the beer from shattering. I looked up in horror at my mother.

_If looks could kill._

Her face was turning a deep maroon color and I swear she growled at me. Then she raised her hand.

_No, no, no, no…_

SMACK! My whole face was on fire. I ran upstairs to my room before she could get a kick in. After locking the door I looked in the tiny mirror above my bed and saw the outline of a hand across the left side of my face. It was already swelling and bleeding from where her ring had cut me.

My name is Marie Dwyer, and I am abused. Really I had been abused my entire life, but when I was little I didn't realize that it was bad, I thought all parents did this to their children. I was so naïve, I didn't want to think of my own parents as bad guys, so I turned a blind eye to the whole thing. My virginity was taken away at eight, in the cruelest and most unjust manner by my own father, and it scarred me to this day. But again I assumed that was normal behavior for parents. I tried not to notice that I was the only kid in my class regularly with bruises and broken bones, and scratches. I tried not to notice all the other kids mom's and dad's picking them up after school with a hug and an "I love you" and a "How was your day sweetheart?" I had to walk home every day by myself, three miles.

I finally cracked when I was sixteen, a couple of weeks after the hand-sized bruise on my face had begun to heal. My dad in a drunken state had thrown an empty wine bottle at me. It had missed my head by inches, slamming into the wall behind me, and glass shattering everywhere. A particularly large shard hit my head, and I had to get serious stiches. My parents had told the hospital that I was clumsy and had tripped while holding a glass of water. The doctors said that I had lost a lot of blood and was lucky to be alive. It was then I realized that if I were to continue living as I was, I may very well not be alive to graduate high school. That thought scared me, a lot. I knew I had to do something, call the police, run, tell the counselor, _something._ But to be honest, I was scared. Despite all they'd done to me, they were my parents, and I couldn't put them in jail, they were the only family I had. Sure there were a lot of bad times growing up, but they'd always made sure I had clothes on my back and shoes on my feet and food on the table. How could I betray them? I know what you're thinking. _She's crazy! They __**abuse **__her!_ Well when that's the only life you know, you're not so harsh on your judgments. But on the other hand, I was terrified that if I ran they would catch me, and I really didn't want to imagine what would happen to me when they caught me.

So there I was, young, scared, confused, and not knowing what the next day would bring. I stayed in this state for a week, when I finally came to a decision. I had to run. So that Friday when I came home from school I ran to my room and took out an old backpack that I had found at a Goodwill a few years earlier. I put a few shirts and a few pairs of pants in it and my toothbrush and toothpaste. I threw in a hair brush and a couple pairs of socks. Then I ran over to my bed, lifting a piece of dry wall beside it, where a little cubby hole was revealed. There I took out my sock full of money and threw it in too. I had started working at a local restaurant this past year, behind my parent's backs. It was only part time, so I could go there right after school and still make it home before my parents came home from work, then I could leave again when they went back out to the bar later that night. It wasn't much, but I had at least a few hundred dollars saved up. I looked at the small collection of books I had come across throughout my life, knowing there was no room for them. I still hoped though, I loved my books and had a special attachment to all of them. But they were not necessary for my survival, and they wouldn't fit, there was only room for one. So finally I slipped in my old, battered bible. I figured God was all I had now.

I zipped up the now bulging back pack, and threw it on my shoulders. I ran down stairs to grab every non-perishable food item in our pantry and threw it into the old metal lunchbox my dad sometimes took with him to work at the factory. I put on my old, tattered Nike tennis shoes, and turned around, taking one last glance at the house I had grew up in. I took a minute to mentally run through the memories over the years. I looked at the couch where my dad had sat screaming at me to get him something to drink so many times. The kitchen where my mom had beat me with that wooden spoon. The wall where that life changing bottle had been thrown. I took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

I walked to the down town bus station, and got on, paying the bus driver my fare. He looked from my backpack to the cash I was handing him to my face, and started to say something, but then took my money and let me board. I sat down in an empty seat near the back and closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the seat. I had no idea where this bus was going, and I pondered about asking someone near me. But then I thought the better of it, _who cares where it's going? I had no where I had to be. As long as it isn't here. _I looked around me, and noticed many people with suitcases or carry-on bags. That was good, it meant that this bus wasn't just going a few blocks. For the first twenty minutes I sat rigid and stiff, eyes glued to the front door, half expecting mom or dad to come running on at any given moment. But after a while I realized that the chances of them tracking the bus down now was slim so using my backpack as a pillow, I fell asleep.

When I woke up a glance at my watch told me that it was about five o'clock. My parents would just be getting home now, to find me and my belongings gone. I shuddered at the thought of what their faces would look like. I wonder if they'd file for missing person or if they'd think it would be too risky involving the law. My mom's brother works as a private investigator on the Albany police force, so that would be a mess if and when the police caught me and I just told them the reason I had ran away, and who my uncle was. He had a little girl and a wife, who he never abused as far as I was concerned, but he had seen my parents openly beating me on several occasions and never said anything about it or even seemed the least bothered by it. So to me, he was also a bad guy. No, they'd probably just tell anyone who asked, like school, that I was really sick or visiting my sick Aunt across the country or something. Then they and probably with the help of Uncle Felix, would take some vacation days, and hunt for me themselves. I tried not to dwell on that thought too long.

I realized that I had to keep a low profile now. No credit cards, no discount programs, nothing that would leave any kind of trace for them to follow. I knew my uncle Mark would do everything in his power to find me, for my mother, who was his cherished little sister, and I couldn't let that happen. I'd have to change my name and change my appearance, maybe forever. I felt tears form in my eyes as I thought about the life I'd never get to have. I could never marry anyone, could never have any kids, or family of any kind for that matter. I could never risk my parents finding me and leading them to the ones I love most. I probably could never finish high school, and college was far out of the question. I didn't have that kind of money and filling out the enrollment paperwork would be a nightmare. I'd have to make up every contact, phone number, and address. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Anything was better than what I'd left. Isn't it better to be alive and lonely, than dead?

I turned to look out the window, trying to see if I recognized any of the street signs. I didn't. I had never been on vacation, so I'd never been out of Albany, which certainly didn't help my situation now. We were on the interstate, weaving through the traffic. Nothing to see here. After about half an hour of staring out the window the bus pulled off at an exit reading Syracuse. I'd heard of that one, so I sat up in my seat a little. We approach the bustling city during rush hour, and the bus slowed then stopped in bumper to bumper traffic as long as I could see. I kept looking out the window, observing the people walking by on the street. That's what I always loved about cities, there were so many different kinds of people there. I remember as a kid walking home from school being mesmerized by all the unique people I'd pass by every day.

We inched along until finally the bus stopped at a bus station and the bus driver opened his doors, looking up expectantly. I looked around and saw the people around me start to get up, stretching and yawning. I stood up and placed my backpack back on my shoulders. I followed the line to get off the bus, and watched it drive away.

Suddenly I was hit with a wave of panic. _Where was I supposed to go? I have no idea where anything is! _I freaked out for a second, then just started walking. I didn't know where I was going, and didn't really care. After walking for a while I found myself next to a Starbucks and decided to take a rest. I sat down at one of the little tables and umbrellas set up outside and opened my lunchbox, taking out a granola bar to munch on. I was one of the only people outside, because of the late summer, early fall New York weather. A few tables back sat a couple snuggled together drinking what I assumed to be hot chocolate and an older man sat at the table beside me drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper.

I got up and went inside with one destination in mind. The facilities. I suddenly felt as though I was about to burst if I didn't use the bathroom **now.** After taking care of my business and washing my hands, I looked at my haggard reflection in the mirror. I was thin, not quite scary thin but definitely a little too thin to be healthy. I said that my parents provided food at the table, not a feast. My skin was a milky white and my eyes were chocolate brown, still looking slightly red and puffy from my earlier nap. My hair was thick and blonde, thrown up into a messy pony tail with a hair elastic. I sighed as I took in the dark purple bruises under my eyes and the bruise on my jaw from when my mom got mad a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the last time I looked at my reflection and didn't see any bruises. _Well that's about to change. _I thought with a small smile.

I walked out of the coffee shop and started walking around the city again. Actually, I was trying to find my way back to the bus station. There I could board another bus to another town, and board one there to another, etc. It would be harder for anyone to find me if I kept moving, at least that's what I kept telling myself. But I had been a complete idiot and didn't pay any attention to where I was going on the way to Starbucks, so I was as good as lost now. After at least fifteen minutes of aimlessly walking around, I _finally_found the bus station. I eagerly jumped in line to get on the first bus I saw, which was luckily just starting to board as I walked up.

In front of me was a women with dirty blonde hair tied in a bun on top of her hair, with an expensive looking bright red coat on and matching lip stick.

"Excuse me ma'am, but I just want to make sure I'm going on the right bus, where is this one headed?" I asked, wanting to make sure it wasn't heading back to Albany.

"Rochester," she looked at me for a second, her eyes traveling from my old sneakers to my young face and backpack before saying, "are you alright? Do you need me to call someone or something for you?"

Despite her fashion model appearance, the gesture was sweet and her eyes looked kind.

"Oh no, I'm fine." I said, "Thank you though." And I meant it.

"Well okay then." After a moment of reflection, she dug into her pocket and placed a twenty in my hand. "It's not much but it'll pay for a lunch." Without waiting for my reply she turned around, picking up her medium sized Coach Carry on, and got on the bus.

I stood stunned for a second before shoving the money in my pocket and stepping up the stairs to board the bus. I paid and started walking down the aisle, looking to thank the nice lady in the red coat. But I couldn't find her. I knew she had to be on their somewhere but I couldn't see her anywhere. So I sat down in another empty seat and prepared for yet another long drive.

By this time darkness had fallen and I watched as the city began to light up, one sign and car at a time. It was only 6 o'clock, but the days were starting to get shorter now that it was September. I leaned my head against the side of the window and watched the characters interact on the screen a few seats in front of me, where they had started a movie. The volume wasn't on, and I didn't know where to get headphones, so I just imagined what the people could be saying.

The bus stopped in Rochester before the movie ended, about an hour and a half later. I got off, only to stretch my legs for a second before turning back around and boarding another bus. And another after that, and another after that…


	3. Hello Readers!

**Hello readers! Okay, I'm still trying to figure out how to work this thing, but I think I've got the hang of it now! I just wanted to post something that should have been above the prologue, but better late than never! **

**First of all this story was something I started a year or two ago, and it kind of fizzled out because I had no motivation, but now I do so I plan to finally finish it! And as for a posting schedule, I would like to do it weekly and since I posted the first chapter on a Sunday that will be my goal day! Now, I have a very busy life and this won't always be possible but I will try my hardest. Please stick around to go on this journey with me! **

**Oh and I am also in need of a beta (grammar is NOT my thing), so if anyone is interested please PM me!**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own any of the Twilight characters or themes, those belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer, I do however own any characters or themes non twilight related in this story and if you plan on borrowing any of them please ask my permission first.:) **


	4. Chapter 2: Nomad

**2. Nomad **

**Hey everyone! It's Sunday, so here's the next installment! This is a bit more setting up for the next chapter, when Edward finally comes in! *audience starts cheering* **

**Enjoy and please leave reviews, I love reading them! Good or bad, it really helps me as a writer. And still looking for a beta, so PM me all you grammar Nazis! **

So this was life for me now. I've been on the road for two whole weeks. My days consisted of riding a bus to who-knows-where for a couple of hours, getting off and going to the bathroom and maybe getting a bite to eat from a fast food restaurant or my lunchbox, then boarding another bus. Every morning I would brush my teeth and hair in the bus station's bathroom if they had one or if not at a nearby gas station. Then I would change my clothes, trying to make them last by wearing jeans three or four days in a row and shirts two.

One day after about a week and a half of traveling I decided I needed to wash my clothes and take a shower with shampoo and things. I was in Columbus at the time, so I got off the bus at 7:30 and walked across the street to the conveniently placed Best Western. I walked in the lobby doors, and walked up to the front counter where a lady sat typing away on her computer. She looked like the typical "how may I help you" flight attendant type, with her hair neatly pinned into a French twist on her head and her make-up and uniform spotless.

She looked up from her computer with a smile.

"Hello, how may I help you?" huh. Her smile faltered as she looked at me, like so many before her.

"Hi, I was just wondering if you had a room available tonight."

"Um, we're a bit busy tonight, with early thanksgiving travelers coming through…what is your price range?"

"The cheapest you have."

"Well, in that case, I do have an opening for a one double bed and bath for $60. Will that work? I'm afraid I can't bend on the price much, but staying here will give you reward points you can cash in later, it's a good deal really."

Sixty dollars. Wow. That's like a third of all my money. Well, I NEEDED a shower and would love a soft bed to sleep in, and a clean bathroom…

"I'll take it."

I gave the lady, her name tag pronounced her to be Emily, the money and she gave me a room key telling me to enjoy my stay. I felt her eyes on the back of my head all the way out of the lobby and into the elevator.

It wasn't like Best Western was some five star hotel, but I felt as though it was as I walked down the hall to my room. I must have looked like an idiot staring at everything with wide eyes and an open mouth walking down the hallway to a passer-by, but I couldn't help it. It had been too long since I'd been in any place halfway decent. I eventually found my room, 303, and used the swipe key thing to open the door. There was nothing special about the room, standard wallpaper and T.V., a double bed with a tan comforter, and an attached bath, but like in the hallway I was elated.

I ran across the room, hearing the door shut behind me, and did a giant belly flop on the soft bed, then started laughing hysterically. It's been a long time since I'd laughed. There had been nothing funny about my situation at home and school was just as bad. I didn't have any friends, everyone had thought I was weird, an outsider. And at home I was scared that if I just started laughing for no apparent reason, my parents would get annoyed and through something at me or slap me.

After getting control of myself I went to the bathroom to start my shower. Three words for that experience. Heaven on Earth. It never felt so good to be clean, I felt like a new person. For a few glorious minutes I felt that I was not an abused teen on the run, but a normal girl living a normal, carefree life. After putting on the white, fluffy robe hanging on the door and towel drying my hair, I sat down on the foot of the bed with my brush and turned on the T.V.

As I combed through my long, blonde hair I flipped through the channels, not really caring what was on, just being happy to have the luxury of a T.V. I found a local news channel and decided to watch that.

The fake looking anchor women talked about a local robbery downtown, the economy, and a local school having an art contest before something disturbing caught my attention.

_Police still on the lookout for 16 year-old Lily Waters who was kidnapped last Tuesday in Albany on her way home from school. Police have no leads but assure the public that they will find the girl and bring the person who has taken her to justice. She could be anywhere, so police are urging everyone to keep an eye out for a young girl about 5'5", blonde hair, and green eyes. Okay, now with local sports, we take you to Jed Rushing who's at Creek Pointe High school…_

My heart skipped a beat in my chest. My stomach was somewhere by my feet and my lungs seems to shrink with each ragged breath I attempted to take. _They went to the police. There looking for me. _I started to see stars before I made myself take a deep breath. I couldn't risk passing out and having maid service find me, and ask for my name and other information. I knew that my parents would be looking for me, but it was still a hard slap in the face to actually see and hear people talking about _me _on _television_.

I laid down on the bed and practiced my breathing until I had somewhat control of myself. I then realized something, I needed to change my name and appearance, _now. _As if my body heard me, I then let out a big yawn, reminding me how tired I was. _Well, _I revised, I can wait until morning. So after putting on an oversized t-shirt and brushing my teeth, I climbed into the fluffy, warm bed and turned off the T.V. and lamp. Despite all my anxiety, or maybe because of it, I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

…

The next morning I woke up at what the alarm clock on the bedside table said to be 9:00. I sat still for a minute, laying wrapped up in the warm blankets on the soft mattress then sighed and got up. I yawned and stretched on my way to the bathroom and thought about what I was going to do with myself. After last night's scare I knew I needed to change my appearance, and for that I needed some money. That was a problem, considering I was running out at an alarming rate. I knew that what I had left couldn't pay for too many more bus rides and no food or hotels. The only thing left in my lunchbox was a fruit cup.

As I was brushing my teeth, I came to realize that I had only one option. I needed a job. Nothing permanent, just something to give me enough money to get to the next city, and I would get another there to get me to the next, and so on. I was a little scared about going and putting myself out there to the public. Who am I kidding, I was down-right terrified, but what else could I do? I was desperately in need of food, clothing, transportation, and shelter; and I was not even going to consider stealing. But before I try to get a job I needed clean clothes. So I threw on some sweats with the t-shirt I was already wearing and separated my clothes into the laundry baskets I found in the closet. I had seen the sign for the hotel's laundry mat on the way to my room, and made a mental note to put it to good use.

I entered the laundry mat and was relieved that I was alone. The last thing I needed was someone staring at me thinking that I looked familiar…

I loaded up my pants in one washer and got it running, my mediums in another, and my whites in a third. I leaned against the wall facing the entrance waiting for the clothes to be done.

After drying and folding them, I put all my now clean, warm clothes back in the basket and made my way up to my room again. I got dressed in the nicest things I brought, a navy blue long-sleeved blouse and kakis. Unfortunately I didn't bring any other shoes except for my old tennis shoes, so I reluctantly put them on making another mental note to buy some flats when I could afford them.

I left my hair down, wavy from where I had gone to bed with it wet, and washed my face with Luke warm water. I looked at myself in the mirror, trying out different smiles for a couple minutes before giving up and going to get my things.

I tried to look older as I walk into the hotel lobby, scared silly that someone would find me suspicious. I asked the lady at the desk whether it would be okay of I stayed another night or two, and she said it would be no problem. As she was taking almost the last of my money I caught the scent of the most mouth-watering, jaw-dropping, stomach-rumbling thing on earth.

_Food. _

But not greasy, fast-food food, or freezer-burned-past-the-expiration-date food, _real, hot, steamy, fresh food_ coming from the left of me! I just about took off running at the scent, which I now realized was coming from the hotels Complementary breakfast bar, but forced myself to stay until the hotel employee wished me a nice day and I could casually stroll over to the line.

I took one of everything, so excited that I couldn't even remember what I liked and what I didn't. I also when no one was looking stuffed as much as I could into my suitcase for later. After enjoying the best meal I'd had in possibly years, I stood up and stretched, going back upstairs to put my suitcase back in my room. Then I made my way to the bus station, but this time getting on one that would take me downtown and hopefully my future job.

I really had no idea what kind of job to get, or even who was hiring, so luckily they had a free stack of local newspapers at the bus station which I gladly helped myself to before boarding the bus. I sat down and flipped to the "Help Wanted" section and started looking through the ads, filtering out the ones that paid monthly and even weekly and ones that required some sort of degree. That pretty much eliminated most of them.

As the bus pulled to a stop, I had it narrowed down to a few, and had circled them with a pen I had taken from the hotel room. A dog walker, $5 per dog, a car washer for this guy at a local car wash for $5 a car, and a hair dresser which made $10 a person. My mom never took me to a hair dresser when I was growing up, and she never did anything with me, so I had learned to cut and style my own hair. It couldn't be that much harder…

I decided to check out the car washing job first, as it probably paid the best. I walked around a little bit until I found the place, Carl's Car Wash, right on a busy corner. I took a deep breath before walking in and going up to the front desk, where a rather greasy young man stood behind the counter.

"Um, hello. I was wondering if the job opening here was still available."

The man looked at me dumbfounded for a second before recovering and saying, "Uh, yeah. It's still open. Why? Are you interested?"

"Yes."

"Oh, uh, okay. Let me go get my boss for you. I'll be back in a second."

"Okay, thank you." My stomach was somewhere by my knees by now, and I was almost positive the employee could hear my heart beating from where he was a few seconds ago. This was completely different from interviewing for my old job at the restaurant, I had to lie about practically anything this man asked me now. At least I could use my real name then.

The greasy employee came back with an overweight, balding man in his mid-forties with a cheesy, tweed suit on that matched his cheesy, over the top smile. I could only assume that this was the infamous Carl from the sign.

"Hello there, missy." The man held out a hand with red, pudgy fingers out to me and I hesitated to shake it before giving in. "I here you're want'en a job here, eh? My name's Carl Lancaster II, to whom do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hi, my name's, uh, Bree Tanner. Nice to meet you too." I tried to give him an I'm-not-nervous-at-all kind of smile but it probably came out more like a grimace. I mentally high-fived myself for fabricating a name under pressure in a few seconds like that. I was trying for something very ordinary, so he'll never remember it, and my face for that matter.

"Well, nice to meet you Ms. Tanner, why don't you take this job application, fill it out, then come talk to me and we'll see if you're up for the job." And with a big smile he departed into a room that the plaque on declared it to be the manager's office. I stood there for a second, still surprised that I just asked for an actual job, when I heard someone nervously clear their throat. I looked up to see the greasy employee staring at me with a pen held out in front of him.

"I, uh, just thought that, um, you would need something to write, uh, with." He stuttered. I gave him a small smile and took the pen then walked over to the small waiting room area and looked at the short form I had to fill out. Thankfully, it wasn't very extensive, I guess they didn't really care what kind of people were operating the car wash. I filled out my "name", job I was wanting, the date, my address (which I made up), my age (I wrote 18), any physical or mental illnesses, and a short response on why I wanted the job. I took a deep breath when I finished and got up, eyes searching for the young employee.

I found him behind the service disk, listening to music.

"Hi, I just filled this out. Um…" I trailed off in question. He looked up at me, the form, then back at me before saying, "Oh yeah, sure, just go right through that door and Mr. Lancaster will help you."

"Okay, thank you."

"No problem."

I tried not to bend the paper with my shaky hands as I turned the metal doorknob and opened the door to the office. It was on the smaller side, and a bit disorderly. All kinds of paperwork and memorabilia were laid haphazardly on the metal filing cabinets surrounding the walls and on the large, wooden desk in the back of the room. Mr. Lancaster was sitting at this desk, typing something into the computer, when he looked up to see me.

"Oh! Ms. Tanner! Have you finished filling that form out?"

"Yes, sir. I, um, have it here for you." I then thrust the paper onto his desk and watched as he picked it up and started reading it. I tried to control my shaky knees. He seemed to notice me shaking because a second later he said, "Please, sit down! You look a little uncomfortable standing!"

A little uncomfortable. That was the understatement of the century, I was downright terrified. I was still getting used to socializing with people again, and the fear that my parents were going to burst into the room at any given moment with a SWAT team was ever present in my mind. I really needed to get a hold of myself. How did I expect to make it out there in the world if applying for a job at an old car wash is freaking me out this much?

_Come on Marie, get ahold of yourself! You're better than this! _

Mr. Lancaster, oblivious to my internal drama, looked up lazily from my application form, then smiled. "Well, Bree, you seem like a lovely young lady and should be fine for the job. If you want it it's yours."

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! WOO! WOO! WOO!

"Thank you Mr. Lancaster, that's very nice, and I promise I won't disappoint you. When can I start?"

"Well, if you can, today would be great."

"Today works perfectly."

Mr. Lancaster then proceeded to show me how everything was ran and helped me get started, before going on his lunch break, leaving me to the growing line of cars. The work was a little physically stressful, as I wasn't used to exercising my arms that much, even standing for any length of time from all the bus riding I had been doing. But at the end of the 6 hour shift I had washed 36 cars. Mr. Lancaster was very impressed, and I rode back to the hotel proudly with my $180.

I worked at Carl's Car Wash for a week before deciding to move on, I had started to recognize all of the employees, and even a couple of the customers, and I couldn't have that. Especially with me not wearing any kind of disguise. So exactly seven days after I was hired, I turned in my resignation letter. I then went straight to Walgreens, in search of makeup.

I didn't really have any idea of what I was doing, I was a lost cause in all this beauty product stuff. I had never worn makeup before, and neither had my mother, so I was left to the sharks. Luckily, since I did have more than enough money to get me to my next city, I could afford to spend a little more on my disguise. I didn't plan on doing it, but I pretty much ended up buying one of everything. Primer, Foundation, Blush, Bronzer, Highlighter, lipstick, Mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, you name it and I bought it. In an attempt to have some kind of guide I also purchased a fairly large book called How_ to Apply Flawless Makeup_, which I found convenient. I also bought a bottle of brown hair dye. The cashier looked a little overwhelmed by all my products, so I told her that I had just flown in and the plane had lost my makeup bag, and that the book was a gift for a family friend a few years younger than me. I didn't say anything about the hair dye, hoping she wouldn't really notice it. She seemed to buy my story, actually she kind of gave me a look that said I'd said too much, so I just shut my mouth. The total came up to be over $100._ It's all for the best, _I thought as I handed her the money.

I then headed across the street to the mall, to get some clothes. I bought whatever clothes I could find on the clearance rack. I tried to look for simple solids that looked neat and practical to work in. I did buy a nicer outfit for interviews and a dress in case I ever needed to fit in somewhere fancy. I also bought a few pairs of sunglasses, fortunately sunglass hut had a buy 1 get 2 free sale going on. Excited about my purchases, I rode the bus back to the hotel mind wondering about the future.

When I got back to my hotel room, I threw all my shopping bags down on the bed and took out bottle of hair dye. I had always liked my golden hair, it was the one thing that other people were jealous of, and so I felt my heart sinking as I looked at the mud brown color. But I sucked it up and started reading the directions.

An hour later I was brunette. I stared at my freshly washed and dried brown locks with astonishment. The dye had made my hair a bit curlier than it usually was, so it curled on the ends. I had done it correctly, and the color was right, but after 15 years of being blonde it was an unsettling sight. I took a couple of deep breaths and started going through all my makeup. With the help of the guide, 30 minutes later my face was transformed. I put on a pair of jeans with a tan tank top and a dark brown cardigan. I stared at myself in the long mirror on the back of the bathroom door. I was completely unrecognizable. I looked absolutely nothing like the girl who had run away from home two weeks ago. I smiled at myself, for God had given me a second chance, a fresh start.

I had already notified the hotel that I would be checking out this morning, so I just dropped my key off in the box by the desk on my way out. If I was being completely honest with myself, I would miss the Best Western. It had been the first place I had ever stayed longer than a night that didn't hold any painful memories. I walked over to the bus station, and boarded a bus that was said to be headed for Cleveland.

I spent the next few months living like this. I worked countless odd jobs over the weeks, everything from a dog walker to working nights at a warehouse. I wasn't proud of some of the jobs I did and I was well aware of the danger I was putting myself in sometimes, but it didn't really scare me like it should have. I was much more terrified of my parents catching me than getting abducted in the middle of the night by a stranger, as crazy as that sounds. But no matter where I was working, I always got my money and could continue buying living essentials and bus tickets to the next city.

I tried my best to stick to big cities, rather than towns. I felt like I had a better chance of blending in with the crowd in big cities than I did in small towns. By then I had been so many names that I would answer to just about anything. It was very stressful mentally, having to constantly keep track of who you are and what your name that day was. I was Amber, Jen, Jane, Sally, Jessica, Maddie, etc.… the list goes on.

I did come across my real name, on the news a couple of times. Not any big stories, but just little _have you seen this girl? _On the bottom of local news shows with my school picture from last year. But still, the sight frightened me to the bone. To know that they were still looking for me this hard after almost four months horrified me, to think that they were not going to stop. I know this is highly unlikely, but a part of me always hoped that because they never loved me they would give up after a few weeks and perhaps purchase a dog or something along those lines, after all I had never meant anything to them. But sadly that was not the case. I was sure that they reason they needed to find me so badly was because they were terrified that I would tell someone about them, and they would go to prison, so maybe once they realized I would keep my mouth shut, they'd let me go.

I certainly hope so.

So this was the state I was in when I rode into Chicago, Illinois. This bus trip had been especially annoying, because I was sitting next to this man who seemed to have a bottomless pit as a stomach. He was eating _the whole way. _I watched in horror as he scarfed down three double cheeseburgers, two medium fries, a chocolate milkshake, and a large Coke. I was about to vomit just watching him eat all that.

So needless to say, I was glad to get off that bus.

Somewhere in the past few months, I had acquired an actual suitcase, so these days I looked more like a young women traveling than a young girl running away from home. I rolled over to the hotel I spotted a few blocks away, and checked in.

I had come to the conclusion that all hotels were the essentially the same. The bathrooms, the hairdryers, the bedside lamps, the floor-length curtains, I had even come across a few with the same bed spreads. But I liked it that way. It was comforting having something be predictable in a life that was anything but. So it was no surprise when I unlocked the door to reveal yet another identical hotel room. I smiled as I laid my suitcase on the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

After freshening myself up a bit I went down to the lobby to grab a paper. It was late, around 11 o'clock, so not many people were down there. A tired looking couple was checking in at the front desk, and an old man was making some coffee at the coffee station in the corner. I planned on getting some sleep soon, but first I wanted to get a head start on the kinds of jobs here. Chicago was a big city, so I wasn't worried about finding one, I just wanted to have an idea of what was currently out there.

I must have been more tired than I thought, because barely after sitting on the bed and opening the paper, I had fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 3: Introductions

**3. Introductions**

**Hey everybody! Happy Sunday! Who's excited for Edward? This is my longest chapter so far (around 5,000 words) so hopefully it'll make up for the filler chapter last week;) **

**I'm so excited people are actually reading this! Please review and give me your opinions! **

**Without further ado…**

The next morning I woke up at 8:00 sharp to get a head start on job finding. I had just done my laundry yesterday, so I figured I could wait until tomorrow before doing it again. I had to dress warmly, as it was a crisp, cold January morning. So I put on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a scarf.

I kept my hair down, as I did most of the time these days. I didn't want people to get a good look at my face and it helped shield against the cold winter wind. I quickly applied my makeup and took the newspaper downstairs with me, to the breakfast bar.

I was getting better at getting ready in the morning. I had clothes that I normally wore together so once I found one piece I knew what to find with it, and I had my makeup down to a regular routine. Sometimes I really hated wearing it, it made my skin feel heavy, but it helped disguise me and it made me look older, so it's a small price to pay.

As I casually ate my oatmeal and fruit, I browsed through the 'help wanted' section of the newspaper. There was a fairly large list, so I figured that I would just visit each option until I got a job. First up was a job at an amusement park scraping gum from the bottom of the rides. Like I said, I wasn't proud of some of the jobs I did but it paid my living expenses. I ran upstairs to grab my coat, a simple grey hooded button-up, and headed for the subway station. According to the map of Chicago I had picked up in the hotel lobby, the subway station was 10 blocks away, so I would have to do some walking.

I started off down the busy, frigid sidewalk. The way the building were set up created a giant wind tunnel so I mentally high-fived myself for not trying anything fancy with my hair, but at the same time kicked myself for not bringing a pony tail holder. About 5 blocks down the road a sign caught my eye. It read _Books by Cullen_. It was the cutest little sign, with rod iron designs around it and holding it to the wall, and golden lettering. Posted on the window was a sign that read "Help Wanted". I couldn't believe my luck! I had to at least give it a shot, this blew away scraping gum from under roller coasters. So I walked up to the store, whose door matched the sign in style, and walked in.

I heard little bells chiming, announcing my arrival, as I looked around the store. It was the most charming little store I had ever walked into in my life. Everything felt cozy and warm, like how a home should feel. Books lined the walls in stacks reaching the ceiling. Mismatched big comfy chairs were randomly laid throughout the store, along with little end tables and moderately lit lamps. A small coffee shop was set up in the front left corner, where a heavenly scent permeated the air.

A smile slowly formed on my face as I looked around the shop. I saw a young man at the cash register, turned around filing some books behind the desk. I walked up to the desk and attempted to nonchalantly clear my throat. I sounded more like I had a hairball.

He turned around and smiled, and I froze. My heart skipped a couple of beats before going into overdrive. I immediately felt a blush creeping up my cheeks and cold sweats breaking out on the palms of my hands. This man was…was…I couldn't even describe it…wow. He had coppery thick, untidy hair, the kind of untidy that looked absolutely perfect, and the greenest eyes I had ever seen. They were the color of the wildest rainforests, or an undiscovered emerald hiding in a mine somewhere. His lips were plump and rosy and he had a beautiful strong jawline. He had a lean, muscular body but subtle in a way, like his body was telling you that he had the muscles but it wasn't screaming at you.

Overall? Wow.

"Hi, how may I help you?" he smiled at me again with his white, straight teeth. His voice was warm and soft, and it took me a minute to realize that he expected an answer.

"Oh! Me? Oh um, well, um, I was um…hi." Did I just say that? Did I SERIOUSLY just say that?

He laughed, a sound equivalent to angels singing, before saying, "Um, hi."

"No, I'm sorry! I meant, um. I was actually looking for a job, I saw the help wanted sign in the window?" _Get it together! You look like an idiot!_

"Oh okay! Here, let me just get you a form to fill out…" He started shuffling through the papers on the large desk before finding what he was looking for.

"And here you go! Just fill this out for me and bring it back when you're done."

"Okay, thank you very much."

"No problem!"

I took the paper from him and tried my very best to walk over to the nearest arm chair gracefully, I knew that how I looked wasn't even close to graceful but at least I didn't fall. I sat down and took out a pen I kept in my jacket pocket and started to fill the form out. I decided on the name Bella Swan, had a ring to it. After completing yet another job form I brought it back to the man at the desk.

"Um, hi again," I attempted at a smile, "I, uh, finished filling the form out." He looked up and smiled again and took the form from me.

"Oh that's great! I'll give Mr. Cullen this right now. Just wait out here and I'll be right out to get you, um," he looked down at the form briefly, "Bella. That's a pretty name. I'm Edward by the way."

And with one last smile he was off to the back of the store to a room which I assumed to be Mr. Cullen's office. I sat down in a chair, smiling to myself. Edward. What a handsome name. And he thought my name was pretty! I had to remind myself that Bella wasn't even my real name, and wondered if he would have liked Marie just as much. I doubted it. Just then Edward came out with a balding man looking to be somewhere in his sixties.

"Hello there Ms. Swan, it's nice to meet you, my names Carlisle Cullen. I understand your hoping for a job in my store."

"Yes sir, it's nice to meet you too, and your store is absolutely charming." I gushed.

"Why thank you, it wasn't an easy road building this place from scratch but it's well worth it now. Why don't you follow me into my office and we can talk about that job."

"Okay, that sounds great."

I followed Mr. Cullen into his office and we did a brief interview. It started off professional, but eventually turned into discussing our favorite works of literature. Fifteen minutes later we walked out of the office together laughing.

"Oh, by the way, the job is yours if you want it. You're my favorite by far."

"Oh thank you sir! That's so kind of you! When can I start?"

"Well, I figured if you're free today, Edward can show you the ropes and tomorrow you can officially start. He'll be excited to finally have an extra hand around here."

"Okay, that fine!" I could not believe my luck! And there I was an hour ago thinking that I would be on my hands and knees in the cold scraping used gum every day for the next week or so.

Edward looked over at us after handling a customer looking for a specific book, and saw the delighted look on my face and the satisfied smile on Mr. Cullen's. "Bella! Did you get the job?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about Edward," Mr. Cullen started, "I'm going to need you to show her around today, how everything works and all that. Can you do that?"

"Oh yes sir! No problem at all, it's great to have some help around here for once." Mr. Cullen looked at me with a wink and an I-told-you-so smile.

"Alright then, you two have fun. I'll be in my office if you need me." And with that he walked into his office and shut the door, leaving Edward and I standing there alone.

…

"So, might as well get started. As you know, I'm Edward. Edward Cullen."

"Cullen?" I made a pointed look at Mr. Cullen's office.

"Oh, yeah." Edward followed my glance, "Carlisle's my Uncle."

"Cool." Well that was a little lame, but I couldn't think how else to respond to that.

"So anyways, this is the front desk." He gestured to the large desk with the cash register on it, "This is where customers come for help with anything they need, and this is also where all the stores expenses are handled, Carlisle rarely does much of that, all of the pricing for everything in the store is handled here too. These kinds of things have to be handled by someone smart and professional, so you obviously won't be over here much, but it's always nice to know where everything is and where to refer customers to."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why won't I be over here much? I assure you I am smart and professional."

"Well, for obvious reasons." He answered with a how-dumb-are-you look.

"Like what?" My voice now carried a hard edge to it. I was not about to be treated like dirt like I had my whole life, and I was going to nip this in the bud.

"Well, right now you're new, you don't know how everything works. Why would I put you at the front desk on your first day?"

"That's fine, I see your point. So after I get in the swing of things we'll just switch out interchangeably?"

"Um, well you see, not really. It's not your place." Edward looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Not my place? And where exactly is 'my place'?" What is up with this guy?

"In the back, filing books. Or reading stories in the kids' corner for the children who come in here." Edward said matter-of-factly, looking at me square in the eye.

"Why can't you do that sometimes? You're perfectly capable of filing books or reading to kids, just like I'm perfectly capable of manning the front desk." I said, meeting his glare with one of my own.

Now he looked downright ticked off. "Fine! You wanted a reason, I'll give you one! Listen to me, Bella Swan. You will not be in charge of the front desk because that is a man's job. You girls can handle the busywork and keeping the children occupied, that's about all you're good for anyways. End of discussion." Did that just come out of his mouth? Oh, it's on now.

"Excuse me? Now tell me right now, who do you think you are? Here's a reality check for you, it's the 21st century and women now can hold any job a man can hold! I can't even wrap my head around the fact that you can be so…so…prejudice and stereotypical! UGH!"

My knees were shaking again, but this time with anger. I didn't care how perfect I thought he was a half hour ago, or even five minutes ago, now all I saw was a big jerk. Meanwhile Edward looked as mad as me, or perhaps even more so. His ears were redder than a tomato, and his jaw was clenched, as were his hands.

Just then a women and a young boy walked into the store, the smiles on their faces fading as they sensed the tension in the room. Edward was good, because he switched it on in the blink of an eye, visibly relaxing and an easy smile forming on his faces, lightening his features and the atmosphere in the room.

"Hello ma'am, sir," he leaned down and smiled wider at the little by when he said "sir", "what can I help you with today?" His voice matched his demeanor, light and easy-going.

"Oh, we were just looking for a book on trains, Will here is currently obsessing over them." The lady gave the young boy a squeeze. "But it's of no urgency, if you two were in the middle of something…" The women looked worried, and slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh no! Nothing is going on here, it's a perfect time to come in! Now Trains was it? Lucky for you, we happen to have quite a large collection of train books if you would just follow me to our kids section…" Edward led the customers off into a corner of the store, decorated with bright colors and stuffed animals. As he walked past me, he whispered in my ear, "We'll finish this later." I shivered as he walked away and I looked down to see goose bumps on my arms.

I took a deep breath and walked over to a shelf of books, acting like I was doing something while on the inside going over my argument with Edward.

I was just so mad! Actually, if I was being honest, I was madder at myself than I was with him. I just had myself thinking that I was a better judge of character than that! I thought he was absolutely perfect, and now I see he's anything but! It kind of scared me, when you live the way I do you rely on your instincts much more than most people. And to think my instincts were so wrong here…

I heard the door open and looked over to see the women and her son leaving the store, the boy holding a bag and a smile on his face.

My stomach dropped to my feet.

"Bella! Come here for a second." _Oh man, oh man. What happened to all my bravado? Why did I suddenly feel like a kid about to get scolded? _

"Okay. I don't want to fight with you on your first day, and certainly not with customers coming in and out, so how about we put all this aside and cross that bridge when we come to it?" He said with a somewhat strained smile. Wow. That was unexpected. This man is just full of surprises.

"Sure, I overreacted anyways." I said with a small smile. I was still mad, but if he wanted to be mature about it, then so would I.

It's not like I'd ever been a big women's rights girl, just glad that I had the right to vote and everything, but something about him just made me snap. The way he acted like I was so far below him, it reminded me of the life I had left behind me. And that's what triggered such a large reaction in me, I had never once stood up for my parents, so I kind of have it all bottled up. And lucky Edward here was the one to shake me up enough for me to blow up. I had a feeling he could have argued about anything and triggered the same reaction in me.

It really wasn't completely his fault.

"Alright then, moving on." He said with a wink, "so this is where the coffee station is…"

The rest of the day we walked around, Edward explaining everything and me listening closely. I learned how to file the books (huh) and where each section was. Edward somewhat grudgingly taught me all about the inventory and the profit, and how everything was priced in the store. I realized that Mr. Cullen really didn't do much at all, everything was handled by us. This was just kind of a hobby of his for in his retirement, and he tried to avoid all the work portions. He chose the books that we ordered, signed our pay checks, and planned events at the store, like book signings and things like that, but that was about it.

Edward and I managed to get through the rest of the day without arguing, which was good. There was definite tension between us though. Just something about him, I couldn't put my finger on it, made me want to hit something. I know that makes me sound like I have anger management problems, but there was no other way of explaining it.

Maybe it was more than a delayed reaction to my parents…

The store closed at five, and I decided to get a bite to eat before making my way back to the Holiday Inn I was staying at. I walked across the street where there was a McDonalds, and grabbed something to go, heading back to the hotel.

I thought about my day as I lay in my bed that night. I was glad that I had gotten a job, the perfect job really, but why did Edward have to work there?

I don't know, it was probably just because it was my first day, and he wasn't used to sharing his responsibilities with anyone.

I understood that.

Edward aside, I was really excited about this job. I couldn't believe I had the chance to work with books every day! I missed reading so much, I missed all of my books back home with all my heart. Growing up they had taken me to another world. A world where I could be anything from a detective to a rich women in love, anything but the miserable life my reality had been. I was really glad I had brought my Bible, even though I wasn't really a devoted Christian or anything like that, but it always made me feel better to think that no matter how alone I thought I was, I was never really on my own. Someone somewhere was fighting on my side, helping me out.

With that thought in my mind, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep, feeling perfectly content.

…

The next morning I awoke with a smile. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it. I was going to get along fine with Edward, and I was going to get paid to take care of books.

I dressed in a navy blue sweater and some dark jeans. I kept my hair down, as usual, and carefully applied my makeup before heading downstairs to the lobby for breakfast. I couldn't help wondering if there would come a day when I wouldn't need to wear all this makeup, and could change my hair back to blonde. I doubted I would ever be comfortable enough to do that, but it couldn't hurt to hope.

After breakfast I grabbed my coat and headed towards the bookstore.

That's when I saw the car. It was a beat up dark green Audi RS6, about 10 years old.

The exact same car owned by my parents.

I immediately freaked out, going the worst case scenario. It came up right next to me on the street, but then kept driving. I saw the driver, it was a women in her early twenties drinking some coffee from Starbucks and singing along with the radio. As the car went passed I saw it wasn't the same car owned by my parents, it had a different license plate and a couple of fender benders on my parents car were absent on this one.

I let out a deep breath. I was just paranoid. It wasn't them, it was just a similar car. I turned back to my front just in time to see a jogger coming at me, looking down at her iPod.

BOOM!

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you there! I was trying to change my playlist…" the runner stammered.

"Oh no, it's fine! I wasn't looking where I was going either!" I reassured.

"Okay then, it's both out faults!" She laughed, "My names Alice by the way." Alice looked to be in her late teens or early twenties, and had dark, pixie-style hair and bright gold eyes, a surprising combination. She was wearing a purple running tank top with a fleece jacket and black yoga pants with running shoes.

"Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Bella." I decided to just go with my work name, just in case she ever comes into the store.

"Oh, Bella! Like in the Twilight books?" She laughed and I smiled and nodded even though I had no idea what she was talking about. Twi-what?

"So, where are you heading?" She asks.

"Oh, just on my way to work, I work at a shop a couple blocks away from here."

"That's cool! What kind of shop?" I really needed to get away from this girl, I couldn't make any friends. She might recognize my face on the news. I need to get rid of her…

"Oh it's um, a book store. Listen I'm really sorry but I really need to get going or I'll be late…" I started walking in the direction of the store. Big mistake.

"Of course! I don't want to hold you up! You know what? I think I've ran enough for today, and my apartment is in the same direction you're going!" She said with another wide smile. "I'll just go with you!"

What was I supposed to say? No? And she looked so excited, so happy to walk with me. _ Me. _Those big gold eyes, that smile…

"So then I said, 'what the heck? I'm moving to Chicago!' and the rest is history! I thought the hardest part would be finding a job, but let me tell you, apartment hunting was a _nightmare_…" Alice was a rambler. We had been walking five blocks and I don't believe Alice had taken a breath the entire time. Literally, I was starting to get concerned about her passing out in front of me. By the time we had gotten to the bookstore, I had barely gotten three words in, not that that bothered me much.

"Well this was just great! I had a great time talking with you! We have to get together sometime!"

"Um, yeah sure. Definitely." Please leave. Please leave. Please leave.

"How about this Friday? You can come over to my apartment and we hang out, maybe catch a movie, if you're free that is." Alice looked so excited.

It had been so long since I had thought about anything but surviving and staying away from my parents, the thought of a girls' night out suddenly seemed a little appealing to me.

"Um, okay. That's sounds fun." It sounded more like a question.

I smiled, even though I felt like throwing up. It wasn't a lie though, it did sound fun, I think. I just had to keep reminding myself the potential danger she was in if my parents found out she was associated with me.

"Yay! Okay, can I borrow your phone a second? I'll put my number in it and text you the address!" She said, holding her hand out.

Uh oh. Didn't have a phone. Crap.

"Oh, um, actually I accidentally put my phone through the spin cycle in the washing machine a couple of days ago, so I don't have one at the moment." Hey, it could happen.

"That stinks! Well, here's my number. You can just call me whenever." She said with a smile. At her inquiry I found a sticky note and a pen in my bag and she wrote her number down, and handed it to me. With a final goodbye, she walked off down the street.

I opened the door of the bookshop to see Edward helping a customer, he looked up and gave me a look of annoyance.

Nice to see you too.

After finishing with the customer, he came over to me.

"Nice of you to show up. I sure hope we didn't inconvenience you with our absurd business hours." He said, his voice thick with sarcasm.

I looked over at the large wall clock hanging above the front door, it was 9:10, the store opened at nine. I thought about giving him another sarcastic remark, but decided against it because it was my first official day and all and I really needed this job.

"I'm sorry, I was on time but I got distracted on my way here."

"Don't feed me your pathetic excuses. You're late and we both know it. Another thing to mention to Uncle Carlisle when he gets back." He turned around and started back towards the front desk again.

"What? I'm ten minutes late! And it's really bustling with customers in here!" Besides the customer Edward had helped, we were alone in the store.

"And my excuses are not pathetic!" This must be a record. Three seconds into the work day and we're already arguing.

"You are in no position to be making smart remarks young lady! I don't know where you worked before, but here you are expected to get here promptly on time and not sass your superiors!" His face was turning red again.

I was fuming. Because he was sort of right. I hated to admit it but he was. I took a deep breath and said, "Look, I told you I'm sorry. What do you need me to do around here?"

He disguised it quickly, but I saw the smug look on his face before he went into business mode. Jerk.

"Start filing those books over there, we have a new shipment coming in tomorrow and we don't want any extra books to file when they arrive, we'll have enough on our hands."

I headed in the direction of the books and was picking up one when I remembered something Edward had said earlier.

"Edward, a minute ago you said when Mr. Cullen gets back. Where is he now?"

"Florida. His friend's daughters getting married. He'll be back in a few days." He said absentmindedly as he typed something into the computer.

"Oh." It was all I had to offer. Silence followed as we both set to work. The customer had left and now it was just the two of us in the store. The longer the silence went on the more awkward it became.

I finally had enough.

"I'm going to get some air, be back in a few minutes." Edward looked like he was going to object but didn't say anything.

The cold fall wind felt good on my face. It was so stuffy in the bookstore. I walked a few blocks before turning back.

When I got back in the store I saw quite a few customers had arrived while I was gone. One of them was a gorgeous blonde around my age. And she was at the front desk talking to Edward. She had her elbows on the table and was leaning down almost to the point of ridiculousness, her V-neck sweater revealing _way _to much cleavage.

_Who is this girl? _I walked over to them, purposely ignoring the hooker and keeping my eyes on Edward.

"Hey, I'm back, anything you need me to do?"

After a second he tore his eyes of the blonde and looked at me.

Oh uh, sure. You can help that man over there."

He gestured to an older man in the corner. "He needs help finding a book for his son or something and I told him I would help him after I finished with Chelsie here."

He smiled at _Chelsie _when he said her name. She giggled back.

The kind of giggle that made me want to tear her throat out.

This was _so _not what we needed for the store. The checkout line was getting longer and longer and Edward was paying absolutely no attention to it whatsoever. And I knew very well that Chelsie wasn't here to buy a book. I needed to get rid of her, I was not having Mr. Cullen come back early and walk in on this, and have Edward somehow turn it around on me.

Not happening. And I have never actually worked the cash register before, just in theory yesterday.

"Oh, I really don't know much about guy books, you would be much better at that. You also have more experience with the books we carry. How about you go help the man and I'll help Chelsie?"

"It's fine, really! Chelsie is almost done, you can go help the man out." His eyes were telling me that I better do what he says, now. Sorry buddy, I need this job.

"No, I insist that you would be better fit for helping out the customer in this situation." I said with a smile. Yes, I was going to be stubborn.

He sighed, realizing I wasn't going to give in without a fight. "Fine, I'll go help him. You two…" he gestured between us and started walking towards the man. I turned to the hooker, I mean _Chelsie, _and plastered a smile on my face.

"Hi, I'm Annabelle! What can I help you with today?"

She wasn't impressed. After watching Edward until he started talking to the man, she turned back slowly, shooting daggers at me with her eyes. "Nothing, I was just leaving." And with that she turned around and walked out of the store. I couldn't help but smirk.


	6. Chapter 4: Friendship

**4. Friendship**

**Okay, sorry for the late update! I went to the beach yesterday for Memorial Day and didn't have time to post anything! **

**And I checked this chapter several times, there should be 0 name mistakes! So I'll shut up and let you read now, I hope you like it, this chapter is mainly about Alice!**

The rest of the day past uneventfully, Edward and I bickered for a lot of it, but not anything serious. He was pretty annoyed with me after the whole Chelsie stunt but he _was_ slacking on the job, and that wasn't my fault.

He was just so _annoying_.

He painted himself as the perfect worker and the second I leave he's flirting with hookers and leaving the whole store unattended too.

Thursday came and went similar to yesterday, and I was left fretting about Alice. I stopped by a pay phone on my way home from work and took out the sticky note with her number on it, trying to decide if I would actually call her or not.

I could just let it go, yes first she would be a little hurt I had stood her up but in the long run it could save her, should my parents turn to desperate measures to find me. But then I remembered that she knew where I worked, so the idea of never seeing her again went down the drain. Judging by what I had seen of her so far, I wouldn't put it past her to storm into the book store, asking why I had never called her.

So I decided that it couldn't hurt. It wasn't like I was moving in with her, it was one night. She doesn't know my real name, and my hair and face look different, I would be okay. So I took a deep breath and inserted my dime then dialed the number.

Alice picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, um, Alice? This is Bella, we met yesterday…"

"Bella! Oh my goodness how are you?! I'm so glad you called! I can't wait until tomorrow night! I was thinking you could come over around 6ish, if that's fine with you, and we could order a pizza or something for dinner. Do you like pizza? Never mind you must! How can you not like pizza! What kind of toppings are you interested in? I like pineapples but I know that some people don't like that on pizza, maybe we should just order two, that way we can get whatever we want without worrying of the other likes it or not…" I was having a hard time keeping up with her, she was talking so fast.

"Wait! Alice, I need your address first." I said with a smile.

"Oh yeah! Duh!" I could hear her slap her head through the phone, "I live in Park Michigan apartments, number 303. Do you know where that is? It's not far from the book store."

"Oh yeah, sure, I know just where that is!" I could find out easily enough.

"Okay, yay!"

"And by the way I happen to love pineapples on pizza."

"YOU DO?! That's fantastic! We're like soul mates!" I could suddenly hear a timer going off in the background. "Oh man, gotta go or my dinner is going to burn _again. _I'll see you tomorrow Bella!"

I chuckled at her flightiness, "Okay, wouldn't want to burn your dinner, bye Alice."

I hung up the phone feeling excited and a little over whelmed. Alice seemed really excited to see me, and it felt good to be wanted. On the other hand she was a lot to take in, constantly changing the subject and talking your ear off, but I had a feeling that would be a good thing.

If she did all the talking tomorrow night that would mean all I'd have to do was listen.

I got to work on Friday (on time to the second) feeling very jittery.

All I could think about was tonight. I tried to file books, but I was too distracted to pay attention to where they were going, and Edward ended up having to rearrange every book after I put it away.

He was real peachy about having to do that.

So he sent me to the cash register to ring people up, and of course, I couldn't manage to do that either. I kept punching in the wrong numbers and tearing receipts apart on accident and on one occasion I dropped a rather large book on a customers' hand as I tried to find the price sticker.

Again Edward came to the rescue, sending me over to read to the kids in the children's corner, and I somehow managed to mess even that up too. My legs bounced underneath me as I read, making the words on the page jump up and down, and I kept stuttering on my words. Eventually Edward came and ended the pitiful story time, bringing me over to the back corner of the store.

"Bella, what the heck is wrong with you today? You are absolutely of no use to me at all, and you won't stop FIGETING!" I had started to bounce on my toes and his hand clamped down hard on my shoulder. I stopped abruptly.

"I'm sorry Edward, I just have something going on tonight and I'm a little nervous about it."

"A little?"

I gave a small smile, "Okay, maybe a lot."

He paused for a moment, his expression unreadable, then said, "Is it a date?"

"Oh no! It's just a friend I met a couple of days ago, I'm going over to her apartment tonight. She's my first friend in Chicago actually."

First friend in Chicago, first friend ever, same thing.

"You don't consider me a friend?" He smirked, "I'm hurt. Now get back to work and if I see you mess anything up again, I am personally kicking you out of here for the rest of the day." Back to business mode.

"Yes, I promise I'll try my best." I smiled at him before making my way over back to the children's corner.

I couldn't help pondering at what Edward had said about being hurt that I didn't consider him a friend. I was 99% sure that he was kidding, but there was a small part of me that wondered if Edward wanted to me to be his friend.

_Well, _I scoffed to myself, _if he wants to be my friend he sure has a funny way of showing it. _

After my talk with Edward the rest of the day seemed to go a little smoother. I tried very hard to concentrate on not messing up anything and that kept my brain from wondering back to Alice.

I had decided that I owed it to her not to flat out lie to her face if she asked me any questions about my past. Instead I would go with half-truths. There were some things I didn't have any choice but to lie to her about, like my age. There was no way I could tell her I was sixteen, and there was no way to half-truth that either, so I hoped she would forgive me when she found out that I had lied.

Of course, my main goal in this is for her to never find out the truth.

Closing time came unnaturally fast, of course. The universe was mean like that. As I was putting on my coat Edward came over.

"Hey, just want to wish you luck tonight." He said with a half-smile.

"Oh, uh, thanks. I'll need it." What happened to Mr. All-business? Well, I didn't question it.

I finished buttoning my coat and walked outside, the cold wind nearly knocking me off my feet, and headed back to the hotel.

I had gone to the library yesterday after I got off the phone with Alice to use one of their computers, and found where Alice's apartment building was located. When I got back to my room I changed into some slightly more comfortable clothes and reapplied some of my makeup.

I was all set to go, but it was still a little too early to be leaving so I sat down on my bed and turned on the T.V. As usual, nothing really interesting was on so I settled for some real estate show on HGTV.

About 10 minutes later I turned off the T.V. and grabbed my coat and bag. I walked down the busy sidewalk past the bookstore and stopped at Alice's apartment building. I took a deep breath.

_Well, here goes nothing. _

Her building didn't have a buzzer, so I walked straight to the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. Her door was the second on the right. I knocked quickly before I could change my mind.

"Bella! Come in! Come in! Welcome to my humble abode!" Alice was wearing turquoise jeans and a black oversized sweater, with a ginormous smile. It was contagious, and I soon found myself smiling with her I walked into her home.

The apartment was full of personality, bits and pieces of Alice everywhere. No corner was left bland or dull, and it made me feel happy. After walking through a little entry way the was a kitchen on the left and to the right was a spacious living room, and breakfast bar divided the two rooms. After I hung my coat and bag on her vintage early 1900's coat hanger, she led me past the living room and to a small hallway where there were two bedrooms and a bathroom. Even though there were things everywhere, it didn't feel cluttered at all, and everything had its place.

"Wow, Alice this apartment is amazing! It must have taken forever to find all of this stuff!"

She laughed, "Well it did take some time, and it wasn't cheap, but I think it was worth it in the end. I practically lived at flea markets and thrift shops for months!"

I grinned. "Yes, it was worth it. So, did you say we were ordering pizza?"

"Oh yeah! I ordered it a couple of minutes before you came, you said you liked pineapple, right? Because if you didn't you'll just have to take it off." She said with a smile.

"Anyways it should here before too long. Actually, I'm kind of hoping they take forever, that way it's free!"

"Yes, pineapples are great. And I know!" We walked over to her old leather couch that she had decorated with brightly colored pillows and a large hot pink throw blanket draped over the back.

Alice turned on the T.V. and flipped through the channels before stopping on some ghost show.

"You like ghost shows?" my skepticism was strong.

"Of course! Have you ever watched this?"

"Uh, no, I haven't."

She looked at me, appalled. "You've never watched Ghost Hunters? Have you been living under a rock?"

I smiled. "No, it's just I never really had an interest to. I mean, it's all fake, right?"

She huffed. "Well if you look at it with that kind of attitude no wonder you never wanted to watch it. You have to be a little more open minded! What's fun about the show is imagining the possibilities of what's really in the dark. It could be ghosts who can't find their way to wherever they go, it could be evil demons, or it could be a couple of twelve year-olds who are getting a good laugh."

"Doesn't that drive you crazy? Not knowing?"

"I think everyone needs a little mystery in their lives, it keeps it from getting too predictable."

I thought about that for a moment. What she said was true, but I didn't really need any more mystery in my life, and my life was anything but predictable at the moment. But I decided Alice didn't know that and it would be fun pretending like the scariest thing in my life was Ghost Hunters.

We watched the show, having fun laughing at the commercials and enjoying the mystery of the unknown, until the pizza arrived, regretfully soon enough that we had to pay full price for it. We watched another episode while we ate and when that ended Alice reached for the remote and turned off the T.V.

"So, time for girl talk. I'll start!" I giggled and she began her story.

"As you know, I'm from Washington originally, and have lived there my entire life up to eight months ago."

I was supposed to know that? Well, I know that now.

"I have one younger sister named Rosalie, and she's a senior in high school this year. If it wasn't for her, I doubt my parents would let me come all the way up here in the first place," she smiled, "they'd miss me too much.

Anyways, I always loved Washington, but I really wanted to see the country. That was a big reason I decided to move out of Forks, well that and to get away from the rain. So when it came time to start sending in college applications, I looked into some schools over in the east. And I instantly fell in love with the University of Chicago. It looked like a castle! It wasn't cheap, but my dad's a doctor and my mom's an interior designer so we were able to come up with enough money to send me there."

Wow. I wish my parents had that kind of money. Who am I kidding? I wish my parents cared about me having a good education…

"They bought me this apartment, after AGES of looking, and pay for half the rent every month, but I bought everything and decorated it all on my own! After years of having your parents do everything for you it felt good to do something all by myself. So anyways I got my job at Mignon's, that boutique downtown, and started my life! Okay, enough about me, your turn!"

I froze.

Uh oh. What was I going to say? I didn't expect to be put on the spot like this.

Think, think, think, think…

"Uh, what do you want to know?" I stalled.

"Oh anything! Just tell me about your life! I'm curious!" The look on Alice's face calmed me down a little, for it did look just that, simply curious.

She didn't look at all suspicious or anything, just making conversation. So I decided just to go for it.

"Well, um, I'm originally from New York. I'm an only child. I came here because I was looking for a change. I, um, always loved Albany but wanted something bigger, so I went to Chicago." Okay, not bad. I didn't lie, which was my goal, but even I could see how vague I was being.

Alice looked at me for a second, processing the information, then smiled. "So, you're from New York? I've always wanted to go there, what's it like? Have you ever been to New York City?"

"Um, it's very cold, kind of like here. And, uh, no, I haven't." I felt like such an idiot.

_What normal person who lives in Albany has never been to NYC? _I should have just said yes. Alice now looked a little confused, but thankfully let it go.

"What about you parents? Are they still in Albany? What do they do?" AHHHHH. Stop asking questions! I really don't want to lie to you…

"They, uh, aren't with me anymore. I mean, they'll always be with me, in a way…"like in my nightmares, "but physically they are not in my life." I mentally did a touchdown dance in my head.

What I said was completely true, and if Alice took it the wrong way, which I hoped she would, it wouldn't be my fault.

She instantly look horrified. "Oh, Bella! How horrible! That must be the real reason you came here, for a fresh start after losing both your parents! I'm so sorry, how long has it been?"

"A few months now."

"Oh!" Then she catapulted from her spot on the couch and threw herself into my arms. I awkwardly patted her on the back.

"It's fine, really. Being here is helping a lot. But, um, it kind of helps to not think about them, so do you think that maybe we could drop the subject?"

"Of course! I'll do anything that will help you cope with this! Do you want some ice cream? I've got some in the fridge…" She started to get up.

"Sure. Some ice cream would really be great right now." Actually I would have said that to anything she offered, anything to change the subject.

Alice got up and walked into the kitchen, and after a moment, I got up and joined her.

"So, what flavor do you want? I have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cookies and cream…" she asked, her voice slightly muffled because her head was in the freezer, moving things around.

"Um, chocolate would be great!"

"Okay!" A few seconds later she emerged with a tub of chocolate ice cream. She went over to a drawer and grabbed two spoons before motioning me to follow her back into the living room.

We spent the next hour eating _way _too much ice cream and talking about silly things. I could tell Alice was trying to keep the conversation light after finding out about my parents, and I was fine with that. Instead we talked about what our favorite bands and movie stars were, and a bunch of rounds of "Would you rather".

I glanced over at the clock on her VCR and saw that it was nearly 11:30.

"Oh my gosh! I didn't realize how late it had gotten! I really must be going, I had a really good time with you, Alice." I started to get up, and Alice got up with me.

"I guess so, but you can stay as late as you want! I had a really good time with you too, Bella. I hadn't had that much fun in a while. Where are you staying? Do you need a ride home?"

"Oh no, that fine! It's not that far from here, and I haven't really found a place yet, so I'm staying at the Holiday Inn right now."

I really hadn't meant to tell her that. I felt absolutely horrible because I wasn't really planning on staying at all. In fact, I had been here too long already. I had been putting it off because it was my dream job, and now I had a friend…

"The Holiday Inn! That's like twelve blocks away! And you're staying in a _hotel_? That's crazy! Please stay with me tonight! I could lend you things to sleep in and I have tons of extra toothbrushes from the dentist!"

I started shaking my head. "Oh, no I couldn't, but thank you for asking-"

"_Please._" Alice whimpered as she jutted out her bottom lip and looked at me with wide eyes. I'm going to regret this…

"Okay, I'll stay. So you can put that little puppy dog face right away." Then I smiled, "And thank you."

Alice started jumping up and down. "YAY! It will SO much fun you'll see! Oh I'm so excited, let me get you something to change into. And while I'm there I might as well grab some blankets and pillows from the linen closet and we could just camp out right here in the living room! And I have to get you a toothbrush, what color do you want? I have blue and green, and I think I have pink…oh I'll just grab you one there all the same!" She ran out of air and took a deep breath, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, this is just the first sleepover I've had since I moved here."

I laughed. "It's fine! Just remember to breathe, okay? I don't want you passing out on me."

She giggled, "No promises!"

It turns out Alice and I were about the same size, which was pretty cool, although she was quite a bit shorter. After we were changed and ready for bed, we went to the living room and sat on our makeshift pallet on the floor.

She made some popcorn while I picked a movie to watch. My parents didn't own movies, and I never went to the theater, so the only movies I had ever seen were the ones I was shown in school on occasion. Needless to say, I had no idea what most of her movies were. I ended up closing my eyes and grabbing one, and we ended up watching _She's the Man_. That is now my favorite movie, not that I have much to compare it too.

After the movie ended we just sat around and chatted about our lives. Well, mostly her life, I had volunteered more than enough for the evening.

"I'm so glad I'm finally eighteen! I've been dying to vote _forever_! And I can finally say I am _not _a child! What about you?"

And here's that absolute inevitable lie I wasn't looking forward to.

"Uh, yeah. It's cool to be able to vote, and stuff." I'm sure it would be cool to be able to vote in a couple years.

"So, what did you do for your 18th birthday? Did you have a big party like I did? I swear half the town was in my parent's backyard that night! It was crazy! I didn't even know half of them! Wait, when is your birthday? Mines March 3rd!" Alice gushed.

"Uh, no I didn't have a big celebration, just a little get together with the people who loved me." I was actually thinking of my 16th birthday, and those people who loved me consisted of the characters in my favorite books. "And my birthday is December 21st."

"Oh really? Well that's coming up! We'll have to celebrate it together!" She suddenly looked sad, "Well, that is if you don't have somebody else to celebrate it with…"

I quickly interrupted.

"Oh no! There is, um, no other family. And I would be more than happy to celebrate it with you." I said with a smile, which she quickly returned.

"Yay! I can't wait! So, where are you planning on moving?"

I blanched.

_How could she know that? Did I slip something?_

"Uh, what?" I asked stupidly, as I mentally went over every word I said to her tonight.

"You know, like are you thinking an apartment, like me, or like a townhouse? Have you put in any offers on any places?"

_Ohhhhh. Oh thank goodness._

"No, actually. I haven't really given much thought to it."

"Huh." Alice looked lost in thought for a moment. Then her eyes brightened and she exclaimed, "You can move in with me! Oh it would be perfect! If you paid half the cost of rent, my parents wouldn't have to, and I would _finally _be living all on my own! And the book store is just a couple of blocks away, so you could just walk to work! And maybe you could help me cook because you look like a person who knows how to cook and I obviously haven't mastered that particular skill yet, oh it's meant to be!"

I was speechless.

_What? I can't move in with her, that's crazy! I'm supposed to be moving in the next couple of days! _

"Uh, no offense Alice, I had a really great time with you today, but I barely know you. I just met you a few days ago."

That didn't seem to affect the joyous look on her face.

"Oh I know Bella, but what is there more to know? I know that you're really sweet and we like a lot of the same things, and we would be good for each other."

She suddenly grew very serious. "And I also know that you are going through a very hard time right now and it wouldn't do you any harm to have someone on your side, helping you overcome your past."

Whoa. I knew that she was horribly mistaken in what she thought I was going through, but she was right. Dead right. I had spent my whole life on my own, fending for myself. And I hadn't really realized it until then, but I did want someone on my side, someone concrete, that is. In fact, the more I thought about it, I _needed _someone.

I looked around at the colorful, comfortable apartment, and back at Alice, who was staring at me with wide, pleading eyes. My decision was made, for better or for worse.

"Okay. I'll move in."

**AHH! So Alice is getting a roommate and Bella is finally settling down! This was a fun chapter to write, Alice is just so happy all the time! I wish more people were like that, it would make life so much easier! Stay tuned for more and REVIEW! Also feel free to PM me anytime, even if it's just to chat:) **


	7. Chapter 5: Trust

**5. Trust**

**Hello again! Yes this is really cutting it close (it's like 11:58) but it's on time! Woo! I hope you like it!**

The next few days were spent finalizing all of the moving plans.

My name, or Bella Swan's name, was on the lease and I was all signed up to pay half the rent. One half of me thought I was pronouncing my own death sentence for doing this, it was so risky! Not only for me but also Alice, even though she didn't know it, and that made me feel even worse.

But other half of me, the teenage girl side, was ecstatic. To be able to live with someone, someone nice and sweet and someone who cared for me, was so far beyond anything I could have ever imagined for myself that I just couldn't believe it. I found myself in the most joyous moods all the time, and Edward noticed.

"Bella. Bella!" I looked up at the sound of my name, having been deep in thought thinking about what foods to teach Alice how to cook first. Spaghetti? That was always a good one to know. Or maybe I should start simple… grilled cheese?

Edward was standing in front of me, waving his hand in my face trying to get my attention.

"Oh hey! Do you need something?" I half-laughed. Everything seems funny to me the past few days.

"Yeah. Can you stop humming? It's driving me insane, you've been doing the same few lines of the same song for the past fifteen minutes now." He looked slightly annoyed, but I saw a playful glint in his eye.

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't even realize I was humming!" I laughed again. He looked at me a second, a curious look on his face.

"So, um, I guess everything went alright Friday? You've been really happy all the time since then. I've been meaning to ask you, but we've been so busy…"

"Oh it went great! Alice's just perfect, everything I could ask for in a friend, and we really seemed to hit it off." I gushed.

"Well that's good then, I'm glad you found a friend." He answered kindly.

_Wow. Edward is being really supportive about all this. Is the biggest jerk of all time being, dare I say it, kind to me?_ I thought to myself. After a seconds debate I decided to tell him about my latest news.

"Thanks. Actually, we liked each other so much that we're going to be roommates. I'm moving in on Saturday."

His eyes widened in alarm.

"You're moving in with her? Bella, how could you be so stupid? You've met the girl what, once? That's insane!"

It was like a slap in the face. I was instantly brought back to my father calling me stupid as he hit me with his belt, making me feel like nothing.

I swallowed the bile that rose up my throat.

"No, I am not being stupid." I said to both of them. Then to Edward, "I know plenty about Alice, and you are not in any position to make that decision for me, you don't even know her!" I yelled.

"You don't know her either! She could be a druggie or a serial killer or even in the Mafia and you're just _inviting _yourself in!" He yelled back.

"I know very well she is not any of those things! And even if she was at some point I wouldn't care! All I know is that she is flighty and kind and funny and cares a lot for me _now_! I don't judge off the past, only the present."

"Why can't you just wait awhile and get to know the girl!" he hollered, exasperated.

"Why do you suddenly care so much about my living situation?" I said, my tone matching his.

He took a deep breath and took a step towards me, taking my hand and looking me straight in the eye. I felt a jolt of electricity at his touch, and a blush rising up my neck from his heavy gaze.

"I just don't want you to get hurt. I know we've had our share of arguments but I can't just stand here and watch you make a decision that ultimately might destroy you."

_He was being protective of me. _

I was touched. All the mean words and annoyed looks he gave me, and now this. I held his gaze and said, "Edward, you have no idea how much that means to me, but I know that I'll be alright. Believe it or not I've been through some tough situations and I have a good feeling about this one, you have to trust me on this."

He debated a second, pursing his lips together, then offered a small smile. "Okay, I trust you."

Just then Mr. Cullen came in from his office, he had gotten back from Florida yesterday.

"Alright, kiddo's! Closing time!" he said, oblivious to the moment we were having.

I looked back at Edward. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He smiled. "Of course!"

…

I barely got into the hotel room before I burst into tears.

I felt like such a horrible person. How dare I ask Edward to trust me like that when I'm living a lie! I threw myself down on the bed, sobs ripping from my chest. And then he said okay! He said he trusted me when he had no right to, he didn't even know my name for goodness sakes! I've never had anyone be protective of me, my 'protectors' were the ones I needed protection from. And then I just took advantage of the first person who was.

I didn't deserve his trust. I thought about what he knows about me that's true, and came up almost completely empty. He knows I argue a lot. And I don't even normally like to fight! I didn't deserve him.

Yes, we liked to fight, but really his trust meant everything to me. Growing up, everyone believed the lies my parents told and never once even considered believing me, the few times I attempted to tell the truth of how I got my injuries. So to have someone say that they trusted me, it was almost an indirect way of saying that they believed me, and that meant the world to me. I had to figure out a way to show him that his trust did mean that much to me. Some way to tell him I don't take those things lightly…

Then a light bulb went off.

I should invite Edward to dinner with Alice! That way he could meet her for himself, and see what a great person she is. But, I thought grimly, if at the end of the dinner he still didn't like her, I would think about reconsidering moving in, to show him how I valued his opinion.

I wiped my tears and washed my face with cold, tingling water. Luckily I was wearing water-proof makeup, so I didn't have to reapply, which I _hated _doing. I missed the days where I didn't have to wear anything. Then I left the hotel and walked over to the payphone that was conveniently located about a block from the Holiday Inn. I dialed Alice's number, which I now had memorized, and waited. Like she always did, she picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Alice, its Bella."

"Oh hey Bella! How are you! I've just been cleaning out some of my old stuff in the spare bedroom, soon to be your room! You would never believe some if the stuff I've been finding that I just assumed got lost in the move!"

"That's really cool! And actually about that, I was wondering if you and I could go to dinner this Friday. I have this, um, coworker, that really wants to meet you and I thought maybe we could all get together."

"Okay! That's sounds fun! There's this restaurant that just opened that I would love to give a try! And don't worry, it's a steak house." She laughed, she was referring to two nights ago, where we had gone to dinner at another place that "she'd love to give a try" and ended up being Indian cuisine. We had both gone home and thrown up for hours, and now we knew never to eat Indian again.

"Sure, okay, I'll call you or stop by after I talk to him. Bye!"

"So long, roomie!" She said cheerfully. There was absolutely no way she was in the mafia, I thought to myself as I hung the phone up and exited the booth.

…

The next day at work I walked up to Edward and gave him a shy smile. "Hey."

He returned the smile. I took that as a good sign to proceed.

"Um, are you busy Friday night?"

He looked confused for a second before he burst out laughing. "Are you asking me out? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" His tone was playful.

"Ha-ha, very funny." I deadpanned. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me Friday _to meet my roommate._"

He sobered instantly. "Oh, uh, okay. I would like to meet her."

"Good, then. Say Friday at six?"

"Yes, that suits me, I'm looking forward to finally putting a face to this roommate!"

I took a step closer. "Actually Edward, about that- I really value your trust and if you don't think Alice would be good for me after this dinner, I will consider calling it off until I know her better."

He looked taken aback. "Really? You would not move in just because I don't like her?"

"I said I would _consider_ it- that is still my decision and my decision alone to make. I just wanted to show you that I did not take what you said yesterday lightly, and I appreciate it."

His answering smile lit up his whole face. "You're certainly welcome. And if you ever need anything, just ask, okay?"

I smiled. "Okay."

The next few days seemed to fly by, and I could barely go a minute without thinking of the dinner on Friday. The event even haunted my dreams. It was silly to feel this nervous about it, but I couldn't help it.

_Finally _the night came. After work I put on a dark pair of skinny jeans with a long-sleeved shirt and scarf, and dawned my winter jacket, as it was getting colder and colder by the day here in Chicago. At the last second I put in a pair of dangling ear rings, to "jazz up" my outfit. I figured it was a special night. After putting on a pair of boots I made my way down to the lobby where I took a seat in one of the chairs in the foyer to wait. Alice was picking me up in her car and we would meet Edward at the restaurant.

I spotted Alice coming in the doors a moment later and got up to join her. After a pleasant ride of laughing and listening to all the current pop songs we arrived at our destination. It was very crowded, it being its opening weekend and all, so it took me a moment to try to find Edward. But after a few minutes of looking, we decided to go ahead and get a table and wait for him there. A little while later I saw him coming towards us through the sea of people, and I waved him over.

_Here goes nothing. _

He looked stunning, as always. He was dressed in a pair of nice jeans and a gray and red sweater, which he wore very handsomely.

"Hey Edward, good to see you again." I said with a smile. After a split seconds hesitation I got up and gave him a quick, awkward hug, I couldn't resist. He returned it with a grin and looked over at Alice, who was staring at him wide eyed and with a slight smile on her face.

"Hi, you must be the soon to be roommate. I'm Edward Cameron, I work with Bella. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." He offered a hand, which she gracefully took.

"The pleasures all mine. It's very nice to meet you, Edward. I'm Alice. Alice Brandon." While he was taking his seat she looked over at me with big eyes and mouthed, "WOAH!" I smiled and shrugged, Edward was quite good at first impressions; I just hoped Alice would be the same way.

The dinner passed by splendidly, better than I could of ever hoped. Alice was obviously smitten by Edward the second she saw him, and after merely five minutes of conversation I could see any doubt in her leave Edward's eyes.

And as a confirmation as we were leaving he pulled me aside and whispered in my ear, "I'm a little jealous of your luck in finding fantastic new roommates so quickly." Then he winked and went off to his car.

All was well. On the drive home Alice could not stop talking about him.

"Oh Bella did you hear his laugh? That was the most joyous sound I've ever heard! And did you hear him talking about The Script? How could've he known that that was my favorite band! He is amazing that boy is! Bella you are _so _lucky to have him as a coworker, I wish I had that kind of luck!"

I laughed in response, like I had been doing most of the night. "I never really thought of myself as someone with luck, but if you say so."

All of Alice's praises were actually starting to get on my nerves a little bit. I mean, yes he was handsome but couldn't she see the 'annoying jerk' aspect like I saw? I decided to ask.

"So Alice, Edward didn't get on your nerves _at all_? Not even a little bit? How about when he was bragging about winning those concert tickets on a radio show last year?"

She looked completely surprised. "What?! _He _get on my nerves! Are we talking about the same person? Not at all! Why, does he annoy you?" Apparently she couldn't.

"Um, well, yeah. A little. I mean, it was really nice of him to come out here to meet you to make sure I would be okay and everything…but really? Not at all?" She laughed and started to shake her head when she stopped and grew serious.

"Wait, so you don't like him? _Like _like him? There's no romantic feelings anywhere?" What? Where did that come from? I was confused on where this conversation was suddenly going.

"No! Of course not! Why would you even consider an idea like that?!" I said, still a little stunned.

"Well, it's just that you guys work together, and I'm not blind. I saw the way you too were together, I sensed something there, and I assumed you two were a thing."

"What?! No, there is _nothing _between us, I swear! We get on each other's nerves most of the time. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, tonight was probably the longest time we've ever gone without arguing about something or another."

"Huh." Alice looked thoughtful for a split second then smiled. "So…is he available?"

"Alice! Yes, he is available, at least I think he is, truthfully I don't know for sure…" I felt the blush hot on my cheeks, and I didn't even know why. I guess it was because I was not used to talking about boys with anyone.

"Well, find out for me, will you? If he is…he won't be for long." She said with a wink. I nervously laughed then turned on the radio.

As I walked to my room after Alice dropped me off I thought about my reaction to what she said.

Why was the idea of Alice and Edward so crazy to me? It didn't seem right, like a weird twilight zone or something. There was another feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when I thought about the two of them together, and I forced it down before it could blossom into something bigger. I wasn't quite sure what I was feeling, but all I knew was that for some reason I didn't like the idea of Edward and Alice dating.

I unlocked my door and went to grab a t-shirt to sleep in and get ready for bed.

_This is crazy! I have no right to feel this way!_ I thought to myself as I brushed my teeth.

There is nothing wrong with the two of them dating, I was just being paranoid. They would be good for each other, she would bring out his creative side and he would help her stay organized.

Why did that thought disgust me?

As I turned off the lamp on my bedside table I decided that how I felt about the two of them together did not matter. As long as they were happy, I would be happy.

**The plot thickens! Hope you enjoyed this and leave your opinion in the review box!:)**


	8. Chapter 6: Awkward Encounters

**6. Awkward Encounters**

**SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! I went on an unexpected road trip without my computer! But here's chapter 6! It's a little shorter but I liked writing it;) I hope you like it and don't be scared to leave a review! Oh and as a refresher this is NOT an Edward/Alice story, no matter how it seems now haha. **

The next morning I woke up jittery with excitement.

_This is the last time I will ever wake up in this hotel room. I now have a home. _

And it was mine, half mine at least. It turns out Alice's parents made a ginormous down payment on the apartment originally so they monthly fee was affordable even to me. I jumped out of bed with a huge smile on my face, like in the cheesy hallmark movies.

Then I remembered last night, particularly the drive home.

It was like someone had switched the "off" button on me, almost all my excitement faded away. And now today I had to see if Edward "was available". I dreaded the thought of that sure to be awkward conversation. I thought of nothing but of how to bring it up all through that morning before work, I actually have no memory of most of the walk to the bookstore. Then all of the sudden, I was there, the beautiful golden door standing before me.

Inside Edward was putting away some books and looked up and smiled as I walked in. I attempted an easy smile back.

"So…anything you need me to file?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, then said, "I, uh, thought you could, um, work the cash register today…if you want to."

I'm sorry, what? Did my ears just hear that correctly? Yes, on my training day he showed me how everything was ran, and I checked people out that day I was so nervous about Alice, but I hadn't actually ever ran the whole thing all day yet. I had been a little hesitant to bring it up, for fear of starting another argument. I was speechless, so I just nodded my head.

As we were walking over there I found my voice and said, "What brought this on?"

"I, um, look." He stopped and took my hand. Like the other day, I felt a shock of electricity at his touch. It was like getting stuck by a tiny lightning bolt in my hand, but the feeling wasn't overall unpleasant.

"What you did yesterday really meant a lot to me. It made me feel really important and I appreciate it, so I thought I'd return the favor."

"Uh, no problem, and thanks." I said a little breathlessly. Then I saw an opportunity, and took it.

"So…I guess you liked Alice?"

"_Liked _her? She was great! So the opposite of what I was expecting, I've never been so happy to be wrong." He said with a smile.

"Well, um, she'll be really happy to hear that. She's been having some, uh, self-confidence issues after breaking up with her last boyfriend." I said, completely lying through my teeth. I had decided that pity would be a good angle to work, it worked for me last week at least.

His face fell. "That's horrible! What kind of jerk would break up with _her_?"

"Well, I'm not sure how private she is about this…" I pretended to ponder for a second. "But he was cheating on her with some wanna-be model, and shorty after she found out he broke up with her over a text." That's really what happened to this girl named Brittany, minus the model part, who had a locker next to mine in the 9th grade, and I overheard her telling one of her friends before school once, and was glad I had now.

"Oh, that poor girl! She doesn't deserve that at all." Edward said sincerely.

"Yeah, well that's relationships for you sometimes. So, um, what about you? Any bad, um, breakup's lately?" Could I be any more obvious? This was _so _not my area of expertise. Is it hot in here?

He gave a little confused smirk and said, "Ah, no. Well not lately at least. I haven't actually dated in a few years."

"Oh. Um, that's good. I mean the no big break up's part! Not the not dating part!" God, I was so out of my element. It took almost all I had not to just throw up all over him.

Edward laughed. "Okay, you're cracking me up. You're red as a tomato, and can't even spit out a proper sentence. I have a feeling you're not just making conversation, what's really up?"

I instantly relaxed, and breathlessly laughed with him. "Actually Alice was wondering if you were, um, _available _and sent me to go find out. I don't usually do these things…"

"I can tell!" He answered, chuckling. "Well, you'll just have to tell her to call and see. Here's my number. Can you make sure it reaches its way to her?" He said as he grabbed one of the many pens in the apple/bookworm pencil holder and started writing on a sticky note from the stack next to the computer.

"Uh, sure! She would love that." I said, taking the sticky note and carefully putting it into my purse.

"Thank you. And sorry for being all awkward about all this."

He smiled. "No problem! And your fine, actually I find it a little cute." Then he winked and walked off to the ever growing stack of new books to file away. I smiled back and made my way over to the front desk, hardly containing my excitement of finally being able to work up here. Just then a customer walked through the door. He was a middle age man with brown/gray hair and glasses.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you today?" I asked, trying not to sound too much like the receptionist I had secretly made fun of all those months ago.

"Oh, ah, I need a book for my wife. Her birthday's tomorrow, and her favorite author is some guy named Sparks? He apparently has a new book out…" I immediately knew the exact book he was talking about, for I had just filed it away yesterday.

"You must be talking about Nicholas Sparks' new book, we have it right here…"

I led the man over to a display near the front of the store, where most of the chick flicks were kept, and gave the book to the man for his inspection.

"Yes, that's it! Okay, can I check out now?" He asked.

"Of course!" I answered, smiling. We made our way back over to the register and I scanned the book with the price scanner.

"That'll be $14.95, sir." He handed the money over and on his request I gift wrapped the book for him. I looked up to wish him a nice day when I noticed he was staring at me with a strange look on his face, like he was concentrating very hard.

"Um, sir, is everything okay?" I asked nervously.

"Oh I'm so sorry miss! It's just that you look _so _familiar! I know I've seen you somewhere before! Have we met?"

"Uh, no sir, I don't believe we have…I don't have a very unique face, perhaps you ran into a girl who looked similar to me!" I was starting to get a bad feeling in my stomach.

The man scrunched his eyebrows together. "No, on the contrary young lady! You have a very unique face that one cannot forget!" All of the sudden he snapped his fingers together.

"That's it! There was a girl who looked like you on the news the other day! She was kidnapped or something- horrible, absolutely horrible, I remember my wife commenting about how distraught the parents must be for their little girl…"

Dread. Complete dread filled me from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair. _Don't freak out, play it cool. JUST STAY CALM!_

I pretended to be confused. "Oh really? Well, that certainly wasn't me. I do hope those poor parents get their daughter back though! The poor child…" I trailed off dramatically. The man seemed satisfied with my answer, but there was still a little confusion on his face.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. But you just looked _so _much like her. Well, actually, now that I'm looking hard enough, there are some differences… the hair color is different, your face a bit more lively than hers, you look much older… I'm sorry, how silly of me! Of course that girl isn't you!" He smiled, and the last trace of doubt left his face. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. Just then Edward popped his head in from a shelf of books a couple rows down.

"Is everything okay?"

I smiled at him, well I did the best I could to smile after a scare that big, and assured with a wink, "Everything's fine- stop worrying! I won't mess up your precious desk!" Then, towards the man, I said with a smile, "That's perfectly fine sir, I feel like I recognize people on the street all the time. Well, they say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world, maybe she's mine! You have a good day, and I hope your wife enjoys that book!"

He gave his own thanks and goodbye sentiments and was off, the bell chiming as he opened the front door.

_Whew. _That was close.

I had no idea they were still airing my story! Ever since seeing myself on the local news in that hotel, I had tried my best to not watch the news or even T.V. for that matter. I figured out of sight out of mind. But to know that there _still_ showing it! What if Alice, or Edward, or Mr. Cullen sees it! Could they make the connection? I hoped not, but nothing was for certain.

I needed to leave, get out of here. Just then the bell chimed over the door, and I looked up to see Alice walking in, all smiles and waving at me.

It was at that moment that I knew that no matter how much I should, I wouldn't leave. I couldn't give up the only chance at a normal, healthy life I've ever known. I had everything I could ever ask for here- friends, a home, and a comfortable job I loved… I just couldn't leave! I was too selfish, I coveted these items that I had been deprived from my whole life too much, I just hoped I wouldn't be making a horrible decision by staying.

Alice half ran over, oblivious to the internal argument going on in my mind, and gestured to a rather large shopping bag.

"Hey roomie! Look what I happened to come across…and it was on sale!" She took out a cream colored bedspread with pink, lavender, and green flower designs on it, with matching pillow shams.

"Wow, that's really cool Alice! What's it for?" I asked.

"You, silly!" she answered, laughing. "You know how excited I am about decorating your room, and the bed spread is always the hardest part. It's the hardest thing to match, so it's easier to pick it out first. So I been keeping an eye out for one, and today I was doing some shopping to kill some time on my lunch break, and TA-DA!" She dramatically gestured to the bedspread. "Don't you love it?!"

I laughed, endlessly amused by her seemingly endless energy. "Yes, I do! It's beautiful, Alice! How much did I cost? I started to reach over for my purse, but she threw out a hand to stop me. "Oh no, you're not paying for this! Consider it a house warming gift." She said with a wink. Before I could respond Edward popped his head out again from another shelf.

"What is that annoying whiny chattering noise I hear?"

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Nice to see you too, Edward." Then looking slightly uncomfortable, she threw a very pointed glance over to me.

"Oh! Um, Edward? Do you think you could check on the details of that book signing that Mr. Cullen was setting up in his office?"

"Uh, alright…Oh!" I could almost see the light bulb going off over his head as he recalled our conversation earlier. "Yeah, sure! I'll be back in a few!"

As soon as he disappeared, Alice grabbed me by the arm.

"So?! Did you talk to him or what?!"

"Yes." I replied, carefully giving nothing away with my expression.

"_Well?!_" She half- screeched. I laughed and replied, "He's single, and he gave me his number to pass on to you." I took the sticky note out of my purse and handed it to her.

"NO FREAKING WAY! This is amazing! This is happening right now, it's actually happening!" She danced around me, jumping with joy, and clutching the sticky note like her life depended on it. We briefly celebrated until we heard the sound of footsteps coming from Mr. Cullen's office.

"Oh, he's coming! Play cool!" Alice said just before Edward came around the corner. She immediately went from bouncing off the walls in excitement to looking bored, playing with a string on her lacy, off-white colored blouse.

"Oh, hey Edward! Didn't see you coming- well, I really have to be going, Bella. I'll see you at home tonight." She said with a wink. Then she turned to Edward. "I'll see you around." She flashed a smile guaranteed to melt Edward's heart and left the store, the bell ringing behind her.

**Ta Da! Hope you liked it! And I hope everyone's summer is going well too, until next week! **

**xoxo**


	9. Chapter 7: Moving Day

** Because I was late last week I thought I'd give you an early chapter this week! So here it is! I hope you like it! And if anyone was curious, right now I looks like this story is going to be around 33 chapters long with an epilogue:)**

The rest of the work day passed uneventfully. I enjoyed working the front desk, even though I was still weary of every customer that talked to me, scared they would recognize me like the man. Luckily, my worries were to no avail. Edward spent the rest of the day bookkeeping with a stupid smile on his face, no doubt thinking about Alice. I felt a quick burst of pain in my chest at that thought, but forced it down.

They would be good together.

I practically skipped home when 5:00 finally came, my earlier joy returning with vengeance. As soon as I got in my room and I went to the bathroom to freshen up a little, and grabbed my suitcase which I had packed last night before I had gone to bed. Suddenly the phone on the nightstand began to ring. I walked over to answer it, propping the suitcase on the side of the bed.

"Hello?"

"HEY ROOMIE! ARE YOU READY OR WHAT?! I am so excited I am literally jumping up and down right now! I was excited this morning, really I was, then I kind of forgot about it, then it was back at lunch when I found that super cute comforter that I already put on your bed, shams and everything, and then when I got back to work I was so busy I kind of forgot about it again and then I got home and it just hit me! I mean like really hit me! You're moving in tonight! I'm on my way right now and should be there in approximately three minutes, you better be ready! Hey, what? HEY!" I heard a horn honk in the background. "That guy totally just cut me off! Jerk! Well, I gotta go Bella, I'll see you in a second!" Then the line went dead.

I started laughing, how could someone possibly talk without breathing for that long? She should be a singer or something, don't they have to have good lungs?

I continued smiling as I put the phone back on its stand and walked over to get my suitcase. As I rolled it to the door, I picked up my purse from where I had laid it on the bed. Once I reached the door, I took one last look around the old hotel room. The full sized bed with the tan-colored bedspread, the matching generic curtains with classic hotel floral designs on them, the old battered dark green carpet.

This room represented one life, a life I now fully intended to leave in the past. A life where I didn't know where my next meal would come from and where I had a different name every day. For now on, as far as anyone was concerned, my name was Bella Jones.

Smiling, I walked out the door, locking it behind me. Once I got down to the lobby I made my way over to the front desk, where I turned in my key. That's when I heard the squeal of delight coming behind me.

I turned around quick enough to see a bright yellow coat before I was engulfed into a bear hug. Alice seemed to be vibrating with excitement.

"Are you ready? Are you ready? Did you turn your key in yet?" She then addressed the lady at the desk behind me. "Hi, is she all good? Can we leave now?" The lady laughed and nodded her head. Then I was spun around quicker than I could blink and led towards the front door.

"Oh my gosh I just can't believe I'm finally getting a roommate!" Alice squealed. "I haven't been this excited in…in…I don't know I can't even think I'm so excited! Just wait until you see your room! I didn't mean to fully decorate it, truly I didn't, but I just kept seeing things that would go PERFECTLY with that bedspread…"

Alice started the car and pulled out into the nighttime Chicago traffic. We rolled down he windows and let the cold wind blow through our hair as we laughed and chattered all the way to Alice's (and my) home.

…

"Close your eyes. KEEP THEM CLOSED! Now walk forward." _Thump. _"Don't worry it's just the coat rack. Keep going!" Alice was so excited about my room that I was not allowed to see it until I positioned in the perfect angle, and she could gauge my reaction.

"Okay, we're there! Open on the count of 1…2…3!"

I opened my eyes to see the most charming room in Chicago, possibly the world.

It was timeless, a perfect balance of vintage and modern. Everything was mismatched yet coordinating perfectly with the bedspread, which laid on a queen-sized bed in the center of the room.

My very own vanity and mirror stood off to one side, and a desk sat on the other, directly underneath a window that overlooked the busy city sidewalk. Knick-knacks and decorations were everywhere, giving the room a homey feel.

It was perfect.

"Oh Alice!" I brought my hands to my mouth and my eyes welled up before I engulfed her in the most sincere hug I've ever given.

Yes it was dramatic, but I didn't care. This was the room of my dreams, one that I NEVER imagined myself ever having. This room was a dream I didn't have to worry about waking up from.

"Thank you SO much! I love it!"

"Oh girly you're welcome! I'm so glad you're here! The permanent slumber party starts now!"

We ordered a Chinese takeout feast and sat down in the living room, spreading the various paper cartons across the coffee table. We chattered and ate, easy banter that felt natural and right.

That night I slept in my brand new bed, in my brand new room, and for the first time, I felt like I was home.

The next day was spent lounging around the house, watching movies and chatting with Alice. It felt good to sleep in, and that night we ordered out once again, so we didn't have to do dishes.

When we were just finishing up our hamburgers and fries Alice got up and grabbed her purse, which confused me until I saw her take out a certain sticky note. She looked at me and smiled.

"Should I? Or is it too early? I don't want to come off as desperate…"

"Well, you're going to have to do it at some point, might as well..."

"Okay, I'm going to do it!" She squealed. She grabbed her phone from the couch and dialed his number, making the last digit and call button dramatically slow.

"It's ringing! Ah it's ringing! Wait, what am I supposed to say? Oh no I didn't run anything by you I'm gonna sound like a- Hello? Well who do you think it is Sherlock? Oh? Well, lucky guess. So Whatcha up to? Dinner with the girlfriend?" giggle. "Why yes, I'm cuddling with him on the couch right now, how does that make you feel?"

I tuned her out. I'd had enough of this over the top flirting. I mouthed bathroom and gave her a thumbs up before making a hasty exit towards the toilet.

Once I had the door shut I stared at myself in the mirror. The thought of those two flirting was revolting to me. Why? Why must I ruin all good things with my negativity? You know what? Forget it. I was done fighting this, they would be good together, and I needed to let them do their thing.

I flushed the toilet and turned on the faucet just in case Alice was listening, then made my way back to the living room.

"I don't know… you're not that cute… "Scoff. "Am not! Now there's no way I'm going, you jackass. Well, in that case… see you then." She hung up the phone and turned to me.

"Don't plan on going out with me this Saturday night, I'll be having dinner with Prince Charming! Oh, what am I going to wear? What's the weather going to be like? How casual is he going for? What's the restaurant venue? So many factors to consider!"

She suddenly rushed to her room and into her closet before sticking her head out and saying, "Are you coming or what?"

…

Alice had a lot of clothes. Like, _a lot _of clothes. Her collection of clothes would be unusually large even to a person with more than about 15-20 items of clothing _all _together. And she tried on just about everything in preparation for her date on Saturday, I having to sit on her bed to give feedback for each and every outfit.

It was the longest two hour of my life.

"Yeah, looks good." I mumbled, observing a freckle on my wrist.

She gave me a look, a hand on her hip. "You didn't even look at it! And what if this is too dressed up? I want to look good but I don't want to look like a fish out of water…"

I noticed she was in a pale teal cocktail dress, with champagne heals and matching handbag.

"Um, yeah I think that's a little too dressy. Maybe something a bit more casual?" I advised. "And maybe something a little easier to walk in." I added, looking at the 3 inch heels.

"Ugh!" Alice exclaimed, falling onto the bed. "I need a break. What about you?"

"Yes!" I said quickly, excited to finally have a window of escape.

"Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Actually," I said, looking at the clock, "It's getting kind of late, and I need to be at the bookstore at 9 tomorrow, so I think I'm going to bed."

"Oh! Yeah, sure! Well, you know where everything is, good night and I'll see you in the morning! I'll cook breakfast!"

I smiled and waved, although mentally groaning at the thought of Alice cooking breakfast. What will it be? Half frozen sausage or burnt eggs? I made a note to leave early so I could grab a bagel on the way to work.

…

The next morning I woke up to the sound of the fire alarm and the smell of burnt toast, as expected. I chocked down as much of the blackened bread as I could and washed it down with orange juice, insisting I had to leave before she could serve me anything else. It looks like the first thing I'm teaching Alice to cook is breakfast.

As I walked into the store I could see Edward chatting with Mr. Cullen by the coffee, each drinking out of an oversized mug.

"Ah, and there she is, Bella! Good morning darling!" Mr. Cullen said, spotting me across the room.

"Good morning Mr. Cullen." I answered with a smile.

"Please, call me Carlisle, I was Mr. Cullen or Dr. Cullen for 30 years back in my days at the hospital, I'm in retirement now! Please have some coffee with us!"

"I would love some, Carlisle." I smiled, walking behind the counter to pour myself a cup.

Suddenly a phone started ringing from Carlisle's office.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's my cue! I'll leave you too alone now, that's probably my wife, Esme. She's the sweetest thing but she's always calling me!" He said with an exasperated sigh, making his way back to his office quickly before the phone went to voicemail.

"So, I understand your busy Saturday night?" I said, trying to make it sound casual but coming off more as a suspicious parent.

He laughed, making me more at ease. "Why, yes I am, because of you. Thanks again for introducing me to Alice, she's really such a sweet girl."

"Uh, yeah, you're welcome. But good luck with her, she'll talk your ear off, literally I can never get her to stop."

"Oh, I bet I can find other things to occupy her mouth." He said with a wink.

"Oh, haha."

And this just got fifty times more awkward.

"So…ready to sell some books?" I said, desperately trying to change the subject. And yes I know I'm the one who brought it up in the first place, I'm an idiot like that.

He laughed, "Always am."

Just then, as if they were waiting for Edward to say that, a customer walked in with a laptop and an empty coffee thermos.

"Hey Ben, good to see you again! I was starting to wonder where you were!" Edward called out to him.

"Good to see you too, Edward! And we were up in Vermont visiting Angela's parents, needless to say I'm glad to be home." He answered with a chuckle as he made his way over to the coffee counter.

"Oh, I can imagine. How's Angela these days?" Edward asked, as he took Ben's thermos and started to fill it with coffee.

"She's doing well, we both are really. Having my book do so well on the market really helped with the whole finance situation, we're even playing with the idea of kids now."

"Wow, that's great! Goodness, kids… I remember when you guys started dating!" Edward exclaimed, a faraway look coming across his eyes.

"I know, but time truly flies when things are good." Ben said, grabbing the thermos from Edward and putting some money on the counter. He then seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Oh, hello there. And who might this be Edward? You finally get yourself a girlfriend?"

"No, no. She's not my girlfriend. She's just a coworker. Ben, this is Bella Swan. Bella, this is Ben Cheney." Edward said, gesturing back and forth between us.

Just a coworker? Just a coworker that got you a date Saturday night.

"Bella, what a nice name, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ben said, offering his hand.

"Yours as well, I take it you're a regular?" I said, shaking his hand.

"Been coming here since I moved to the city, best coffee in Chicago happens to be at a book store, take that Starbucks." He answered with a wink.

"It is pretty good." I laughed, taking a pointed sip out of my mug.

"So how come I haven't seen you here before? How long have you been here?"

"Oh, just a couple weeks, I just moved to the city myself."

"Really? Well, it's a fantastic place to live, Chicago is. Gives me plenty of inspiration for my books." He smiled, patting his laptop. "Where are you staying?"

"Um, just a few blocks down, over in Park Michigan apartments."

"Oh, Angela knows someone over there! Nice places!"

"They are." I liked Ben, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

He sat down in one of the several comfy chairs in the store, setting his thermos on the small table beside it. Then he opened up his laptop and started typing.

I smiled at the cozy scene.

Feeling eyes on the back of my head, I turned around to catch Edward turning quickly away, the tops of his ears reddening a shade. Had he been staring at me?

**Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!**


	10. Chapter 8: Date Night

**Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter- leave a review if you do! I hope everyone's summer is going good, what's the weather like where you are? Where I am it's incredibly hot everyday with random afternoon showers that last like 5 min. Weird, right?**

**And just wanted to bring to your attention the rating of this story- MATURE. This fic is sexual and there will be lemons, just to warn you! If you can handle it or haven't matured enough to read it, don't!**

The rest of the week passed in peace, I taught Alice how to cook toast, which she now did every morning, and arguing with Edward was kept to a minimum. Yes, we still fought, but I guess Alice was the common denominator in our relationship and helped reign both of us in.

Ben came in for coffee every morning and stayed exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes before going off to his day job of a cashier at the local grocery store, which he held in between books.

Angela came in with him on Thursday and I got to meet her. She was tall and skinny with brown hair and glasses, and as sweet as Ben if not more. She was scouring the motherhood section looking for pregnancy books and she wasn't even pregnant yet. Ben rolled his eyes as she paid for three at the counter.

"That'll be $35.95 please." I said, putting the books in a bag for her. She dug in her purse and got out her wallet.

"Here you go, thanks again for helping me pick out these. I'm just so excited!"

"You're welcome," I said, taking her money and putting in the cash register. "I hope they help, I don't have any personal experience but those are the most popular ones we have."

"Okay, I'm all ready. Now all I need is the baby!" She joked, patting her flat stomach.

She started to walk towards the door, before suddenly remembering Ben.

"Honey, are you coming or what?"

"Yes, dear." He said with a wink, before closing his laptop and walking over to her. They linked arms and walked out together, the bell chiming behind them.

After a week of anticipation (primarily from Edward and Alice), Saturday finally arrived.

Edward was jittery the whole work day, just as I was that first sleepover. I guess Alice has that effect on people. We were taking a lunch break when I decided to ask him about it, get the elephant out of the room.

So as I was taking the lid off of a fruit bowl (courtesy of the book stores small café), I said, "So, Edward, excited for tonight? I know Alice is, don't tell her I said this, but it's all she can talk about." That wasn't an understatement. She talked so much of it that I felt like _I _was going on this date with her.

"Really? Well that makes me feel a little bit better. I was worried I was blowing this out of proportion. You see, it's been awhile since I had a date…" He said with a nervous laugh.

"Well if you are, she is too." I said with a smile. "And why is that? Did the last girl scare you off or something?" I asked.

"Well um, don't, please don't judge me, but the last girl I dated ended up being my cousin."

I choked on the bottled water I had just taken a sip of. "Your _what_?" I gasped.

"I know, I know." He said, pinching his eyes together in shame. "I had _no _idea Uncle Garrett and Aunt Kate had a daughter. Tanya was her name. We dated 3 months before we made the connection. It turned me off of women for a while." He admitted.

Seeing the humor in the situation, I started laughing. "That's just," I said, between chuckles, "the worst luck in the _world_! If you want I can ask Alice for a family tree."

"Not funny Swan!" But he started laughing too.

"So where you taking her?" I asked once the laughter had died down.

"Uh, this restaurant over by Gold Coast, Les Nomades, it's French," He said. "She mentioned she worked at a French boutique so I thought she'd like it…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Oh Alice loves French! She was just asking me to teach her how to make crepes the other day!" I quickly interrupted, soothing him.

"Oh good." he said, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Edward, will you help me out back here! This shipment is heavy and I'm old!" Carlisle called from the back door of the store.

"Coming!" Edward yelled as he hastily made his way to him, leaving me to wonder what it would be like to go have French cuisine with Edward.

…

"Okay, how do I look?" Alice asked, spinning around in a circle so that I could admire her at all angles.

"You look great! He won't be able to take his eyes off you." I gushed, looking at her. After she had learned what restaurant they were eating at from me, she had decided on a casual pale pink dress with flats and a simple shoulder bag. Her short hair was styled to look effortless, and her makeup was flawless.

"Really?" she squeaked. "Thanks so much Bella, you're the best! I feel terrible for leaving you all alone tonight though!"

"Oh, its fine. I might go see a movie or something, I'll keep myself busy." I assured her, handing her her coat.

"Well, okay then. Please just call me if you get bored or something happens! I can always leave early!" She said, taking the coat and putting it on.

"I promise I will but don't hold your breath for a call. You have fun tonight and tell me all about it when you get in." I said, walking to the door with her.

"Of course! See you later Bella!" As soon as the door shut I walked over to the window where Edward stood waiting next to an expensive looking car. I watched as he opened the door for Alice before getting in on the driver's side and I continued watching as they disappeared into the Saturday night traffic.

_Well, it looks like I've got some time to kill. _I thought as I stared at the empty apartment.

An hour later I was well into a gallon tub of Rocky Road and had just reached Darcy's first proposal in the 2004 version of little women on T.V. I had never seen any adaptation of the beloved classic so I was enthralled with it.

I tried not to think about how the date was going but couldn't help it when my mind wandered to the subject during commercial breaks. Was she talking non-stop, or could he quit her long enough to eat? Did it annoy him she was talkative or did he like it because it gave him a chance to stare at her uninterrupted?

My heart thumped just thinking of his stare, those eyes…

I stopped myself right there.

Because what was behind those eyes annoyed the hell out of me, and those eyes were currently obsessing with my roommate, and I set them up. And I'm glad I did. Yes, I was glad.

I watched the rest of the movie with a blank mind, determined to keep it from drifting back to them. When I finished I got up and threw my ice cream container away (yeah, I the whole thing. No regrets.) and went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.

Just as I was putting the hand towel back on its rack I heard the sound of the front door opening and the jingling of keys. I rushed out to see a very contented Alice lean against the now closed door and smile.

"Well…how was it?" I asked.

"It was…great. He's just so…wow, I mean…just…it was great." She giggled.

"I'm so glad! Tell me about it!"

"Well…" she started off dramatically, an enormous smile on her face, "right off the bat the outfit was a hit, he couldn't take his eyes off me! And his _manners_, oh my god it was so refreshing to see a guy with manners these days! And the restaurant was fantastic, as always, it's one of my favorites you know, but I swear this time it was somehow _better_ because he was there, I don't know. And as usual I couldn't keep my mouth shut, but he just sat there the whole time and listened to me talk and never did he seem bored or tired, it was great!

"And when he dropped me off…" She bit her lip and blushed. "Well let's just say there wasn't any talking then. Maybe a couple of moans…"

"And that's where I'm going to cut you off!" I interrupted, making a show out of covering my ears, "That is officially too much information."

"Oh, don't worry silly!" she laughed, batting my hands away. "I'm not a slut, we didn't do anything but kiss, he was only under my bra 15 seconds before I stopped him."

"But overall I had a great time- I can't wait to do it again Friday."

"You already have another date?" I stammered, "Isn't he supposed to wait a few days before calling you back or something?"

"Well it happened to come up in the conversation, and now we've avoided the whole awkward call thing all together." She said, tapping her head knowingly.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun, I think I'm going to go to bed, now, I'm pretty tired…" I said, yawning.

"Okay, see you in the morning roomie!" Alice answered, taking off her shoes.

After I shut my door I could hear her humming in the living room and into her room.

I laid in my bed with my comforter on top of me, and wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by Edward Cullen. I was fairly sure he would be the dominant type, judging by his jackass attitude.

I bet I could give him a run for his money.

Then again, I had no way of knowing- I had never been kissed. I have never had anyone show any gesture of affection towards me. When my father…raped… me (my jaw clenched at the thought.), there was nothing affectionate in it. It was nothing but a few convenient, erotic quickies for him, and nothing but pain for me.

But something told me kissing Edward wouldn't be anything like that. That his dominance wouldn't be like my dad's. I touched my lip and wondered how his would feel on it.

Then I remembered Alice talking about his hands under her bra. I slowly lowered my hand down on my breasts and started massaging, imagining it were Edwards hand instead of my own.

It felt good.

I stopped myself before I took anything too far, this wasn't right. He wasn't mine.

…

The next day at work I found Edward to be the happiest I've ever seen him.

"I heard it went well." I whispered as I was helping him out with the morning coffee rush behind the counter (apparently Ben had spread the word about the good coffee.).

All he did was smile in return and say "Yes. Yes it did."

Just as we were checking out the last customer in line the door jingled again, and I looked up to see a very attractive middle-aged women with honey brown hair and matching eyes. She was dressed in light pastels and seems to have a warm glow radiating from her skin.

"Hello Edward dear! How are things going in here? I was just on my way downtown and I thought I'd stop by, plus Carlisle forgot phone again." She said, holding up cell phone.

"Hey Aunt Esme, its going good, Uncle Carlisle is in his office."

She suddenly looked at me. "And you must be the new girl I've heard so much about from these too." She smiled. "Bella, isn't it? Esme Cullen, it's great to finally meet you."

"Bella Swan. Nice to meet you too Mrs. Cullen." I said, smiling back.

"Oh please, call me Esme!" So she was like Carlisle.

"Esme." I replied.

"Here, I'll go get Uncle Carlisle for you, I'll be right back." Edward said, making his way to the back office.

Esme watched him go with a sweet smile on her face. "The boy is so sweet, I raised him well."

"You raised him?" I asked.

"Yes. He lived with Carlisle and I from the time he could walk to when he graduated high school."

I had a million questions swirling in my head. Why his Aunt and Uncle, what about his parents? And now I knew for sure he was a high school graduate, how old was he?

But the only thing I said was, "You have raised him well."

What? No they haven't, not really! He was a jerk! A sexist, selfish jerk!

But I couldn't say that to such a sweet lady who obviously thought the world of him. A lady who went out of her way to raise him like one of her own. I admired her for that.

Edward then came back with Carlisle behind him.

"Carlisle I swear, you owe me. I had to get out of my bed and make my way through this frigid city just to deliver something _you_ forgot." She said handing him the phone.

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but no promises it won't happen again."

She smiled and kissed him back. "Well next time you'll just have to live without it."

He laughed and gave her a hug, and I suddenly was overwhelmed with the love they had for each other. I looked away to give them their privacy, and saw Edward did the same. He winked at me.

When they had finished chatting about their days Esme turned to leave.

"Oh, Bella! You must come have dinner with us sometime! You seem like such a nice girl!"

I was a bit surprised by this offer, but how could I refuse?

"Of course Esme, thank you."

"Oh you're welcome dear! I'll be seeing you all then again, so long!" With one last wave she opened the door and made her way down the windy sidewalk.

After she left it was business as usual. After working for a bit I thought I'd share with Edward what I'd found out.

"So Esme was telling me that you grew up with them?"

He smiled, but I could spot a little uneasiness in his eyes. "Yes, they've been very good to me."

I decided not to press any further, as I could see Edward wasn't comfortable with where this conversation was going. He didn't want to talk about his parents, and that was fine with me. He could have his secrets, I've certainly got enough of my own.

"So were you serious in you wanting to have dinner with us? Because Esme keeps her word with those invites, I can assure you."

"Sure, if that's um, if that's fine with you." I suddenly thought that Edward didn't want me over, so I added, "Maybe I could bring Alice, and they could meet her too."

He smiled, the dimples in his cheeks coming out. "Sure, or you could just come by yourself, it's all good with me."

I smiled back, pleased with his answer, and continued on with my work.


	11. Chapter 9: 3rd Wheel

**9. 3****rd**** Wheel**

**Hey everyone! I don't know if any old readers noticed but I went back and changed chapter 3, so all the names are straight now! I hope this helps any confusion! I hope you enjoy! **

**(p.s. someone you've been waiting for will make an appearance in the next chapter!) **

The next Friday came and it was time for Alice and Edward to go out again. I walked into the apartment after work to see Alice already starting to get ready.

"What time are you guys leaving?" I asked, taking my coat off and hanging it on the coat stand.

"Six. We wanted to eat some dinner before going out to the movie." She answered, her voice slightly uncomprehensive as she was busy putting lipstick on.

"Oh, what movie are you guys going to?"

"Does it matter?" She said, winking. "But I think it's called The Conjuring. Some scary one Edward suggested…" She trailed off.

"Oh, cool! You'll have fun then, it's like Ghost Hunters!"

"Yeah, I will." She said, happy. She then looked at me and put her hands on her hips.

"What?" I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her stare.

"It's just I feel so bad leaving you home all alone again tonight. You deserve fun too." She said, chewing on her lip.

"I do have fun! I consumed an entire gallon of Rocky Road last week—if that's not fun I don't know what is."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." She thought for a second before her eyes lit up.

"Why don't you come with us!"

"Um, what?"

"Come with us, please! To tell you the truth, I did most of the talking last week," Big shocker. "And why I enjoyed it, I felt like I was talking to myself. I don't know how much longer I can take it! If you were there it would make it so much easier for me! I know you actually listen!" she said winking.

"Uh, Alice, I'm not so sure…I don't want to intrude on your date, I don't think Edward would like it…"

"Nonsense! He loves you! What little he said last week was all about you! Here, I'll call him right now and ask him!"

Before I could stop her she had her phone out and it was ringing. Huh, she must've already put him on speed dial.

"Hello?" Edward answered on the third ring. His voice even sounded heavenly on the phone, and that was saying something. I mentally kicked myself for thinking that.

"Hey Edward! It' me, I was wondering if I could bring Bella on our date tonight? I hate leaving her here all alone and I know she would be so much fun to have around!"

I looked at her, mortified.

"Uh, Edward, I'm here and can hear you, just so you know. And I really don't care to go, Alice seems to think all I'll do is mope around the apartment when she's gone and is now insisting that I accompany you." I said into the speaker. "You can say no." I added for good measure.

But Edward seemed to have other ideas.

"No, she can come! That'll be fine, I hope you like scary movies Bella! I'll pick you ladies up at six?"

"Of course! See you then!" Alice answered, clicking the end button.

"Are you sure about this? I don't want to be a third wheel…"

"Course you won't!" She said, shooing the idea away with her hand. "Now come in here and get ready with me, you can't go looking like that."

"Like what?" I said, looking down at my outfit. I was wearing a long-sleeved fitted t-shirt with a scarf and my only pair of name brand jeans, skinny style. I was rather fond of this outfit.

She scoffed at my obvious confusion.

"You look cute, but not _going out_ cute. Gosh Bella I swear sometimes…" She mumbled inaudibly, taking my hand and leading me to her closet.

After rummaging for a few minutes she had an outfit prepared, and laid it on the bed for me to put on while she finished up her makeup.

She had picked out a high-waisted floral skirt of warm, fall colors, with a soft, golden blouse. Next to it she had a forest green long cardigan and a pair of black tights. She also had a thick brown belt out and a pair of brown combat boots sat next to the bed.

I put on the outfit and admired myself in the mirror. I had to admit, it looked good. Alice sure was working at the right place. The boots were a bit tight but everything else seemed to fit well enough.

I walked into the bathroom to show Alice.

"Oh I love it! You look so cute! It goes perfect with your hair color! Now spruce up your makeup, go for browns and golds, and I'll go get changed."

Luckily by this point I was pretty good at the makeup thing, and quickly touched up my face. Alice was back by then and she took my hair down from the bun I'd had it in, and my hair fell down in long, wavy heaps, framing my face and falling down to the middle of my back.

Alice touched my hair up with a curling iron, and stood back to look at me.

"You look hot. Give me 5 minutes and I'll be ready to go."

I blushed, not used to being complimented, and before I could respond Alice was pushing me out the door and into the living room so she could finish getting ready.

I went into my room and looked at my reflection in the vintage mirror hanging above my dresser. I smiled at what I saw.

I hadn't cut my hair since a couple of months before I ran away, and I needed a trim bad. But I liked it longer, and I was finally starting to get used to the brown color. I thought it suited the new me.

Just then Alice's cell phone started to ring from its place on the coffee table.

"You get it! I'm almost done!" Alice called from the bathroom. I quickly went into the living room and grabbed the phone, glancing at the time as I picked it up

5:58. The man was punctual, I'll give him that.

"Hello?"

"Bella?"

"Yes…"

"Oh, it's Edward, I'm outside your apartment. Should I come up or…"

"Uh, sure. Yeah sure Alice is almost done but you never know with her." I joked.

"Okay, cool! See you in a sec." He said before ending the call.

I put down her phone and a minute later there was a knock on the door. I walked over and answered it, seeing Edward on the other side.

He looked amazing. He had attempted to tame his russet hair but it hadn't really worked, the result being adorably cute. He was wearing a pair of nice, dark jeans with a blazer, and he had a collared shirt underneath, the first couple of buttons undone. It was casual, but classy, and it suited him.

Busy with my observations, it took me a moment to realize that we hadn't said anything.

"Hey, so, uh, come in!" I invited somewhat awkwardly.

He seemed slightly dazed, his mouth agape the slightest degree. A few seconds after the natural answer time he responded, "Oh, yeah! Okay."

He then proceeded to walk in and take a seat on the couch, and I followed him after shutting the door. Sitting down next to him, I offered him something to drink.

"No, I'm fine. You, um," he said pausing, his ears reddening a bit, "you look great. Exquisite actually."

I scrunched my eyebrows together and looked down at myself. I saw nice, maybe cute, but certainly not exquisite by any means.

"Oh, um, thanks." I said, awkwardly laughing. "You, um, too." Why was this suddenly so awkward? I only see him six hours every day six days a week, I just saw him a couple of hours ago for goodness sake. Where the hell was Alice?

Just then, as if waiting for the cue, Alice flitted in, looking absolutely gorgeous as always. She was wearing a knee length dress of cloth, sweater like material with a long cardigan similar to mine and tights, with heels so high it was a wonder she could stand in them, much less walk. But walk she did, somehow managing to look like a little fairy even with them.

"Hello, handsome. Ready to go?"

Edward smiled and stood up. "Of course, you look beautiful, as always."

She smiled and did a little curtsey in return.

Edward turned to me and offered a hand, saying, "Shall we?"

I took his hand and let him help me up and walk me to the door. Then, after Alice had shut and locked it, he took her hand and led her down to the car, I walked slightly behind them.

Let the third wheeling begin.

…

We arrived at the restaurant of choice (some Japanese place) after a pleasant car ride during which I rarely spoke but the radio was on so it wasn't uncomfortable.

After we were seated Alice started talking about her day, and I mentally settled down and got my ears ready, because lord knows I'll be there for a while.

"I had one of those feelings, you know? Like "today is going to be a good day." I don't know why I thought this but I swear I have these feelings sometimes. My mom thought I was psychic or something growing up, it was so funny! I guess I just have a gift! Maybe I can learn to channel it and get my own T.V. show, like that big-haired blonde over in Long Island…"

I sighed subconsciously and immediately hope she didn't see me. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, Alice was so sweet. She just _never shuts up._ I looked up to catch Edward's eye across the table, a smirk on his face. He looked at Alice with his eyes and subtly checked his watch, then he winked at me.

I smiled, shrugging my shoulders in a way that said, "Yeah, I live with her."

He smiled back, wide enough so his eyes crinkled in the corners.

Alice seemed to notice this, and asked in mid-sentence, "I was so scared that this bird—what's so funny Edward?"

"Oh uh, nothing, something you said reminded me of a funny story." He lied flawlessly.

I raised my eyebrows, mouthing, "Nice."

He shrugged, allowing the compliment. I rolled my eyes.

The rest of the meal went nicely, it was my first time eating Japanese and I liked it. Hibachi, at least, I wasn't going anywhere near that sushi stuff. The best part of the meal was it was free. I argued with Edward, saying that I could pay for my own, but he insisted that he was already paying for Alice and it wasn't fair to make me pay for my own. Whatever it was an argument I didn't mind losing- saved me twenty bucks.

The next stop was the movies and I had to admit, I was pretty excited. I had never seen anything like it, it was some theater from the 20's that had been recently remodeled, and it was spectacular. I felt like I was thrown back in time or something, and the chairs actually reclined!

So there I sat, with my very own large tub of slightly-buttered popcorn, with a pack of Junior Mints and a Coke, settled down in my cushioned, reclining chair all ready for the movie. Alice had only purchased a bottled water, she said she was "full" from the restaurant. Edward sat between the two of us with a Coke of his own and some Twizzlers. I realize that I looked like a fatty, and I didn't care. This was my first time in a movie theater and damn it I'm going to enjoy it.

The movie was actually pretty decent. It was about this house in the sixties that was haunted by this demon, and it looked pretty real to me. Of course, right up until the climax. The mother was possessed by the demon and was trying to hunt down her child, which is a completely horrifying concept, but her makeup looked so fake that the entire effect was gone.

Out of know where, I just started laughing. It was probably wrong, but it just looked so _fake_ to me. All the build-up for _this_.

I looked over to see Edward staring at me incredulously. Then, he lifted a corner of his mouth, and before long he was laughing too. We looked over to see a terrified Alice hunched down in her seat, eyes glued to the screen. This for some reason only made us laugh harder.

I couldn't breathe after several minutes, and my side hurt. I could tell Edward's was the same way.

Regaining my voice somewhat I whispered, "We have to st-stop. People are st-staring!" But he did not stop, in fact I swear he got louder.

We laughed right on through the end of the movie, and were just catching our breaths as we reentered the lobby and started heading out to Edward's car.

"What was going on with you two? You wouldn't shut up for like 30 minutes!"

This brought on a whole new wave of laughter.

"I…don't…even…know." Edward gasps between chuckles.

"It wasn't even…that…funny!" I said, clutching my side.

Alice rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip. "Well when you're ready to behave like an adult please drive us home Edward."

He took a few deep breaths to regain himself and smiled at her. "With pleasure my lady." Then, looking at me, he amended, "Excuse me, my _ladies_."

The ride home was as comfortable as the ride there right up until he put the car in park next to our apartment.

The silence was suddenly deafening, and Alice shot a pointed glance at me from the passenger seat.

Well this is awkward.

"Well, um, I think I need to head in now. Thanks, um, for the night. I had a lot of fun."

Edward quickly got out of the car and was at my door opening it for me by the time I had my seatbelt off.

I took his waiting hand and got out, thanking him again.

"No problem." He said, then quieter, "Actually you made it a pretty good night. I'd be bored out of my mind without you there."

I winked and replied, "I know."

He laughed as he walked me to my door and made sure I was safely inside before returning to the car.

As soon as I was in the apartment I went to the bathroom, all that Coke went right through me, and changed into some sweats and a t-shirt.

15 minutes later Alice came back in, saying only, "Damn that boy can kiss."

I awkwardly smiled at her and went to my room.

…

The next day at work Edward met me with shining eyes.

"I just want to say thank you for coming last night, it was great. You're a great friend.

I smiled. "You're welcome."

"Won't you come with us again?" He asked.

"Sure." I said, busy rearranging the kids section, they often got messed up.

"Great! How about today at lunch?"

"Wait, what?" I hadn't really been listening.

"I've got a lunch date with Alice today and I would love it if you came with us."

"Um." I wasn't sure. It's true, I did have fun last night, but I didn't want it to be awkward, especially if Alice was only expecting Edward.

He took my hand, looking me in the eyes, and said, "Please."

I rolled my eyes and huffed dramatically, "Fine. But you're paying again."

He smiled. "Done."

Our lunch break came at noon and we left the store together, on our way to small café a few blocks down. While we were walking Edward called Alice and told her I'd be attending. He said she didn't mind.

Lunch was surprisingly fine. Much like last night, it didn't seem awkward and we all got along fine. The café was _amazing_, and I planned on coming again. It was named Sal's, and they served the best roast beef I'd ever had in my life. Edward also believed this, as he was the one to recommend it for me.

When we arrived back at the bookstore at one I was surprised to see Esme there, in one of the cozy chairs reading a magazine.

"Hey, Aunt Esme, what brings you here?" Edward asked, walking over to her.

"Oh no, just came to relax. To tell you the truth the house seemed a little too empty and I wanted to relax in a more public setting." She smiled.

"Bella! Darling how are you?" She asked, noticing me.

I smiled. The women was so sweet. "I'm doing good Esme, how about you?"

"Oh just fine, can't complain about a thing." She smiled. "Oh, sweetheart, are you doing anything tonight?"

"No, I don't believe so…"

"Excellent!" Her eyes shined. "Please come over for dinner with us then! You promised you would!"

"Oh, um, okay, uh, are you sure that's fine with you?" I asked to both Edward and Esme.

Esme laughed and said, "If it wasn't I wouldn't have offered!" And Edward winked, I took that as I positive thing.

"Well, then, sure. Mind if I bring my roommate, Alice?"

"Of course not dear! I'm so excited to finally meet the famous Alice Brandon myself!"

"That's good, I'm sure she'll be very happy to meet you too." I replied.

"Well then, it's settled! I'll have Edward pick you two up tonight at 6, I can't wait to see you tonight!"

"Okay, see you then!"

After she left Edward came up to me.

"Are you sure you're alright with coming tonight? If you don't want to I can make up an excuse to tell her or something…I don't want you to feel like you have to."

"Oh no it's fine! I love Esme, she's so kind! If, if that's okay with you that it…"

"Oh yeah it's fine with me! We've already had this conversation I believe." He said, punching my arm playfully.

I laughed. "Yes, we have. I just wanted to make sure."

He looked me in the eyes and said. "I can't wait, I'll see you at six?"

"Six." I confirmed.

I called Alice on my way home from the bookstore to tell her that we had plans tonight. She was all calm on the phone and that alerted me that something was wrong.

When I got home I found her running around the apartment in nothing but a bra and panties freaking out, articles of clothing were scattered all over the floor.

"What's going on?! Alice, calm down! Alice! ALICE"! I caught her by the shoulders and I could almost feel her vibrating.

"I'm freaking out Bella. I'm going to meet his parents tonight! His _parents_. I don't know if I'm ready for this. I mean, we've only been on like five dates! I don't know how I feel about _him _much less his family! This is too soon! Too soon!" She said, overdramatically, as always.

"Alice, take a deep breath." I instructed, taking one myself. "Everything's fine. I've met both of his parents, and they're wonderful people. It's very casual, you don't have to be perfect and just because you meet them doesn't mean you and Edward have to get married. Come on, deep breaths now."

Alice started breathing deeply, and the vibrating slowed down until only her hands shook.

"Your right Bella. I can do this. I can do this?"

"Yes. You are fine, and I'll be there anyways, if it gets weird I'll make up something to get us out of there." I answered.

She grinned. "You better, I'm counting on you roomie." She then held out her pinkie and I proceeded to hold up mine, and we pinkie swore on this whole ordeal. And pinkie swearing is serious stuff, you don't break that shit.

By six we were both presentable and ready to face the Cullen's. Edward complimented both of us as we helped us into his silver Volvo and off we went to the Cullen's.

As we started to drive out of the city it occurred to me that I had no idea where the Cullen's lived. Soon we entered suburbia and with it came bigger and bigger houses. At last we pulled into a driveway and I looked up to see a mansion of sorts.

It was beautiful. The house was a creamy white color and it was three stories, each having their own balcony. It had so much character to it, and this was just the outside. What I would give to live in a house like this…

"Well, here we are, are you ready ladies?"

Alice nodded, not speaking for once. And I said, "Yes. I'm ready."

**I hoped you liked it! Please leave a review telling me! And I'm so sorry but the chances of me getting another chapter up by next Sunday is next to nothing, as I will be on vacation for most of that time for 4****th**** of July, so it might be late but I definitely will have one up sometime during the week! Thanks again!**


	12. Chapter 10: Jasper

**10. Jasper**

**Sorry for the late update! Luckily you were all expecting it and it wasn't **_**too**_** late;) **

**I hope you enjoy this Chapter! If you have time write a quick review, I love getting them! **

"Bella! How wonderful to see you again dear! And this must be Alice! Come in, come in!" Esme exclaimed, ushering us in with bright eyes and a warm smile.

"Nice to see you too, Esme, your home is _beautiful_!" I said, looking around the inside.

The walls were all painted in pastel, happy colors and every room I could see was decorated very tastefully in a way that was very tidy but still made you feel like you were home. It reminded me of the bookstore in several ways, although altogether it was much lighter and airier.

"Oh thank you sweetie! And so are you- both of you! Beautiful girls!"

"Thank you, that's so nice. It's really so nice to meet you." Alice said, finally finding her voice.

"Likewise." Esme smiled, before leading us into a semi-formal dining room, with the table already set and a gorgeous bouquet in the center of the mahogany table.

"We're just about ready, Carlisle is just putting on his tie, please take a seat anywhere you like."

She then turned away and walked up the spiraling staircase, yelling "Carlisle! They're _here_! How long does it take to put on a tie!"

Edward sat down and Alice sat next to him. I planned on sitting on his other side, but Alice caught my dress and pulled me over to her, giving me a pointed look. I smiled and took a seat to her right.

The table was spread end to end with food, including a roast, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, beats, corn, and several other little dishes. It looked to me like a Thanksgiving Day feast.

"Edward, this looks…looks…_great_ but this is a lot for a casual dinner!" I said, keeping my voice down. Alice nodded and added, "I feel underdressed!"

Edward laughed, throwing his head back. "I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you two. Everything Esme does is over-the-top perfect. 15 years I lived in this house and I don't think we ordered takeout but like once, and even then we took it out and ate it on china. She's so sweet but that's just how she lives. She's the perfect housewife."

Just then the perfect housewife herself entered with a slightly flustered Carlisle, straightening his tie.

"Bella, good to see you," He said, nodding my way. "And you must be Alice. Carlisle Cullen, it's a pleasure." He said, shaking Alice's hand.

"Now," he said, taking a seat at the head of the table. "Let's eat."

And eat we did. There was _so _much food. And using my manners I took a little of everything, and was determined to eat it all. Because of this I didn't talk much at the table, just listened and nodded at appropriate intervals at the conversation ran essentially by Esme and Edward.

"So Edward dear, guess who I talked to on the phone this morning?" Esme asked, exchanging a glance at Carlisle.

"Who?" Edward inquired, taking a bite of his potatoes.

"Jasper. And he told me that he's coming to visit tomorrow for a couple days!" Esme answered, barely containing her excitement.

"No kidding! That's great! Man, it's really been too long." Edward said, excitement all over his face.

"Whose Jasper?" I asked politely.

"My little brother," Edward said. "I haven't seen him since he left for college at Texas A&M last year."

"I've been there before! Beautiful campus!" Alice commented.

"It is." Esme agreed. "It's just so far, I miss seeing my little baby."

Hearing Esme say that made me wonder if Jasper was Edwards' biological brother or his cousin. I decided not to ask.

"I would've told you earlier, but I just found out this morning myself. I'm going to have to get on to him about the late notice." Esme said in a tone suggesting just the opposite.

"Is he staying here or at my place?" Edward asked.

"Here. He's already got a room here and I'll be here to entertain him all day, unlike you." Esme answered.

It suddenly occurred to me that Edward owned a home. Well, of course he did, if his younger brother is in college, he must be around that age too, or maybe even graduated!

No, I believe he was in school. Edward didn't strike me as the type to work at a bookstore his whole life.

But truthfully, I'd never given much thought about Edward's age. I suddenly felt very young sitting in a room of adults.

"So Alice, dear, what do you do?" Esme asked, changing the subject.

"Well right now I'm going to school down at the University of Chicago studying fashion design and I work at a little boutique called Mignon's."

"Oh I love that store! They have the cutest clothes!" Esme exclaimed. "And how lovely! I'm an interior designer myself, and I just love it. If you have any questions feel free to ask!"

"Thank you, I will." Alice answered, beaming.

"What about you, sweet Bella?" She asked, effectively turning everyone's eyes to me.

"Um, well right now I work at the bookstore. I really love it there, it's really a store from my dreams." I said.

"Thank you, I try." Carlisle said, smiling.

"What about school?" Esme prodded.

Shit.

"Well, um, I'm not um, currently enrolled in any classes but I plan to at some point."

Well, I could if I ever got my G.E.D. And money. Yes, money was a big thing too.

"Oh." Esme said as politely as she could muster, and took a bite of beans.

I felt my face redden. This obviously was a house where everyone completed high school with the highest honors then proceeded to the college of their choice studying something that will make them a lot of money. I was an obtuse goldfish in a sea of intelligent octopi. An octopus was smart, right? I couldn't remember from my lack of schooling.

The rest of the dinner surprisingly went well, as long as the subject stayed away from school or future plans, both of which I was severely lacking. I left happy and _very _full.

…

The next day at the bookstore, at around 11, the doorbell chimed and in walked a very handsome man. He was tall and tan, with curly blonde hair and dimples that could make a girl faint.

"Um, hello sir, can I help you with something?" I asked, a bit breathless.

"Hello ma'am, as I matter of fact you could. Are the Mr. Cullen's here presently?"

Before I could answer Edward popped out behind a shelf, spotting the stranger.

"Well, look who decided to show up!" He shouted, walking over to the man and embracing him in a warm hug. "It's about time, man."

He smiled. "I know, I know. I've just been busy, I've missed you man. You still need to come stay with me in my dorm sometime."

"We'll see." Edward winked. Then, turning to me, he said, "Bella this is my brother, Jasper Cullen. Jasper, this is Bella Swan, my coworker."

"Nice to meet you, Jasper." I said, extending a hand.

He kissed it like a good old southern gentlemen, saying, "The pleasure's mine Miss Bella." I giggled at his antics. I had to admit, he was good.

"I'll go get Carlisle." Edward said, walking to the back of the store.

When he was out of earshot Jasper turned to me.

"So, are you and Edward like, a thing? Or…"

"Oh, no!" I quickly interrupted. "He's actually dating my roommate, Alice."

"Oh, really?" His eyes lit up. "So, are you involved with anyone?"

"Nope." I answered. Wow, that was a lame answer.

"That's cool! So, doing anything tonight?" He asked.

"A little forward, are we?" I said, making my way over to the front desk. I was in uncharted territories at the moment, and had no idea what I was doing. Did he just ask me out? I hope so, if not my answer wouldn't make any sense.

He laughed easily. I took this as I good sign. "Well, maybe I am. I just feel like if I don't ask you out now some guy is going to come in and sweep you off your feet and I'll never get another chance. Beautiful girls aren't around forever." He said with a wink. Yes, he's very good.

"Why thank you." I said with a smile. "I'm flattered but I'm not sure if I'm free tonight…"

"I'm begging you, darling." He said taking my hand and showing off his dimples.

I sighed, caving in. "Fine, but I better have a good time, and it better involve food."

He laughed, "That can be arranged. What time do you get off work? And what's your address?"

"I get off at two today, early because it's Sunday. And I live a few blocks down in Park Michigan apartments."

"Oh yeah, I know just where that is. How does five sound?"

"That works for me."

"Then it's a done deal pretty lady." He said with a wink.

Just then Edward came back in with Carlisle behind him. "My boy!" Carlisle yelled, hugging him. While they started talking Edward turned to me.

"What's a done deal? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, I've got a date with Jasper tonight." I answered, acting nonchalant but really gaging his reaction.

"What? A date? With Jasper? _That _Jasper?" Edward said, jutting a thumb over to Jasper, who was still talking to Carlisle.

"Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?" I asked.

"Well, uh, no…I guess. Just…_Jasper_?"

I laughed, quite enjoying his distress. "Yes, Jasper. What's wrong with it? You can't have me to yourself, Edward, if it wasn't him it'd be someone else."

"I…yeah…I suppose." He answered, looking down and going quiet.

Jasper left soon after, promising to pick me up that night. Edward was oddly quiet the rest of the work day, and I swore I caught him looking at me a couple of times.

When I got home I told Alice about my date that night, and she was ecstatic for me.

"This is great! I feel so bad when you come with Edward and I, you need someone too. Oh I hope it goes really well, then we could go on double dates!"

"Whoa, slow down, he's leaving tomorrow."

"Nothing's for sure! He could stay if he wanted!"

"Whatever you say Alice, now will you help me get ready?"

By five I was completely ready, thanks to Alice and her primping expertise. Jasper called me when he arrived and I opted to meet him downstairs, save him a trip. I secretly also didn't want him meeting Alice, as I was scared she'd scare him off with her talk of commitment.

On my way down, I'm not going to lie, I was freaking out.

I had never been on a date before. Guys never had any interest in me. I didn't know how to act, what to say, what to _eat _God's sake! I was on my own. Well, almost, Alice had helped me out with getting ready, but I was too embarrassed to ask her about dating. A girl like her surely has gone on hundreds of dates, and I have gone on a grand total of none.

Nevertheless, I must be doing something right if Jasper asked me out in the first place. If I was that bad no way would he go out of his way to see me again, right?

By this time I had reached the front of the building, and saw Jasper leaning on the passenger seat of his car waiting for me.

He was dressed very tastefully, and it reminded me of Edward. Must be Esme's influence. When he saw me he waved and walked over.

"Bella! Don't you look absolutely gorgeous!" He exclaimed, lifting my hand to his lips.

"Why thank you sir, as do you." I flirted back. And he did, really. But nowhere near as gorgeous as his brother…

Just before I got in the car a familiar Volvo pulled up behind Jasper's.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" I asked as the man I was just thinking of got out of his car.

"Oh, I was just coming to see Alice, I forgot you two had a thing tonight…" he said, slightly awkwardly, which was abnormal for him.

"Uh, yeah, cool. She'll be happy to have some company." I said back.

"Well, um, have fun you two!" He said, but somehow the sentiment didn't seem entirely meaningful.

"We will." I said, getting into the car. Jasper winked at Edward before walking around to the driver's side and getting in himself.

As we pulled out, I noticed Edward didn't seem to move until we turned the corner a block away. Yes, I was watching. I don't know why and I hope jasper didn't notice.

Soon we were stopped in traffic, as expected. You couldn't drive anywhere here without getting stopped up somewhere. As we slowly inched our way forward Jasper struck up a conversation.

"So, what brings you to Chicago?"

"Um, just wanted to try out big city living. I love it here so far, it's a beautiful city. You?" I said, trying to keep the subject on him. To be honest tonight I just wasn't in the mood for lying, and the truth was not an option.

"Well, I grew up here. And I agree, I love this city." He started, "I guess by the time it came to go off to college I was tired of it, wanted something new, you know?"

I nodded. I knew all about wanting something new, obviously.

"So I jumped at the chance to go to sunny Texas. And it's nice there, but I miss this city and everyone in it."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah, so, don't tell anyone but," Jasper started, a gleam in his eye, "I'm seriously considering transferring to the University of Chicago."

"What, really?" I stammered.

He smiled. "Yes. I'm already on Christmas break so I could just start up next semester, I just came up today to go visit the school, talk to the headmaster, that sort of thing."

"It's also going to be Esme's Christmas present, so again, don't speak of this especially to her."

"Oh, that's great Jasper! She'll love it. I hope everything works out." I said, truly happy for him. He seemed so excited to come back home. I wondered about how having a home like the Jasper's would be. I imagined perfect. A beautiful house, Esme spoiling you with clothes and food, Carlisle kind but stern- someone you looked up to. An older brother like Edward…I stopped there. For some reason the idea of Edward being my brother was very strange to me.

The rest of the car ride was filled with light comments on general things, like the weather and television. We finally arrived at the restaurant, a steakhouse, although not the one I went to with Alice and Edward, and walked in, fortunately getting a table without having to wait.

"So how are things down at the old bookstore?" Jasper asked after we were seated and had ordered drinks.

"Good. Well, better than good, great actually. I love it there, it feels like…" I struggled for a word to describe the cozy bookstore. "Home." I settled with, surprising myself at how true those words were. It _did_ feel like home, way more so than where I came from.

Jasper smiled. "Uncle Carlisle will love to hear that. He put so much into that place, and I know he feels the same way about it."

I smiled and took a sip of my water.

"I can tell. He truly is the best boss ever, you're so lucky to have grown up with him. And Edward…well he can be difficult."

Jasper laughed. "Oh I _know_."

I laughed too. "I swear we argue more than talk, but somehow it works for us, you know? I don't know…I guess the job just wouldn't be the same without him."

"Same with the family." Jasper agreed. "We don't have the most conventional family, but we each have our parts. Edward's an egotistical son of a bitch but I couldn't make it without him."

I just smiled in response.

The waiter then came up and took our order. After he left I looked around and admired the décor of the place. "This reminds me of a restaurant I was at with Edward and Alice a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Jasper asked.

"Yeah…it's actually when he and Alice met for the first time."

"What's Alice like?" He asked suddenly.

"Well, um, she's sweet and kind and _very _talkative. She's all over the place, talking a mile a minute yet nothing gets by her. She's very intuitive. Why?"

"Ah, just wondering about the girl that got old Eddie back out there. Did he happen to tell you about his last girlfriend?" he asked, laughter in his eyes.

"Yes!" I said, laughing. "But Alice doesn't know, so don't say anything to her!"

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

The rest of the meal went nicely, and I really enjoyed myself. My burger was satisfactory, and Jasper kept up a light conversation that prevented any painfully awkward gaps. It was easy. Safe. Boring. No I didn't mean that last one, I wasn't…oh never mind.

The drive home was pleasant and quiet, both of us full and content from our meals. When Jasper turned off the ignition in front of my apartment building I suddenly was hit with the realization that he might want to kiss me.

I was not prepared for this. Oh God I had never kissed a boy! What was I supposed to do? I wasn't sure…I tried to recall any past memory from movies or school of kissing, but I was panicking.

The silence was deafening, and I was surprised Jasper couldn't hear my thoughts, which were going haywire inside my head.

_I didn't want to kiss him. Or did I? I mean, he was quite handsome_, I thought, looking at him in my peripheral. _Maybe I should. I had a nice time, I owed him this, didn't I? I was getting ahead of myself, did he even want to? He seemed like he had a nice time but he could've been faking it…_ I mentally went over everything I said the whole night, trying to find something weird. _I don't think I said anything…but my definition of weird and his could be very different—_

"So I had a good time tonight." Jasper said, readjusting himself so he faced me.

"Um, me, uh, too," I stuttered.

"Thanks for coming." He said, leaning closer.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Anytime." My breathing quickened.

By this time he was only about a hands length away from me. I could do this. I _would _do this.

I leaned in, just about to close my eyes and go for it when—

A light.

A passing car's headlights had shined momentarily into the car, and the light reflected off of Jasper's eyes in a way that, for a second, they looked like Edward's.

I pulled away.

Jasper gave me a questioning look.

"I'm so sorry Jasper. I just…can't do this. I'm so sorry."

"That's fine. I knew this night was too good to be true anyways." Jasper joked.

I immediately felt terrible. "It's not you, really! This night, was amazing! It's just there's…"

"Someone else. I get it. Don't worry, you're fine." He smiled, popping his seatbelt and getting out to open my door.

But I wasn't fine. I was insane. I just turned down a very handsome, educated, kind man why? Because for a split second his eyes reminded me of his brothers? _A brother who was taken by your roommate mind you_, I reminded myself. God, I'm a terrible person.

I got out and Jasper kissed my hand goodbye.

"Friends?"

"Friends." I answered, relieved, though still hating myself.

**Poor confused Bella! So what did you think of Jasper? Thanks for reading! And next chapter is going to be pretty big plot wise, so stay tuned!**


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